Fair Trade?
by spooksfan08
Summary: Follows on from Home. Harry and Ruth are back on the Grid but Ruth seems to be on self destruct. No one seems to know why. Can Ros and the others help and can a chinese woman help the team to see what is really important once and for all?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks**

**Authors note: Hello :D This story, like all my stories follows on from the last. All characters from 2.1 onwards are fair game. Even Danny and Jo may get a mentions. Characters that are definately included are Adam, Zaf, Ros, Lucas, Tariq, Malcolm, Wes, Emma, Ruth, Harry, Dimitri, Beth, Zoe and possibly Alec. (Amy, James, Carrie and all original characters are mine :D) Basically anyone who appeared in the last story may pop up again :D.**

**Title : Fair Trade**

Early Start

The bedroom was dark as Ruth rolled onto her back. She had been home less than twenty four hours but she knew that the peace would be shattered before too long. The incessant beeping of her phone confirmed her suspicons.

"Harry" She groaned as his phone joined in the bleeping.

"Umm?" Harry didn't open his eyes as he felt Ruth's weight on him.

"Redflash" Ruth glanced at the screen on her phone as she sent the appropriate code back, to confirm she had recieved the message.

"Is that what you are calling it these days?" Harry opened his eyes as she rolled her eyes. "Bloody Hell" He realised what was going on as he picked up his Iphone. Graham had finally convinced him to join the 21st Century and upgrade the brick he had carried around for years.

"Possibly" Ruth wriggled free of Harry's embrace as Harry rolled his eyes "Why did I let you and Ros convince me to fight the Inquiry? I could be staying in bed now"

"Harry" Ruth was already half dressed as a crisp white shirt hit him in the face. "You know why, and you haven't had a lie in since the day you joined the Army"

"Come on then" Harry chuckled as Ruth zipped up her boots "Let's see what is trying to cause Armageddon today"

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Zoe rubbed her eyes as she walked through the Pods to see Malcolm staring in disbelief at his computer. The display flashed 5 am as she cursed.

"Everyone has answered the redflash, they are all on the way in" Malcolm watched as she walked towards him and Beth and Dimitri joined them. Zoe thought it best to ignore the fact the two newbies had arrived together. Aswell as the fact that Dimitri was wearing the same outfit as the day before.

"What's wrong?" Dimitri began asking questions as he booted up the computer on his desk.

"Triads" Zoe stated.

"What?" Beth spun and faced Malcolm. "Triads? As in the Chinese Mafia? Since when were they into terrorism?"

"Not Triads" Malcolm sighed. He didn't really believe it but the facts all appeared to point to a potential attack on a well known Chinese businesswoman attending a trade conference in London.

"No way" Dimitri was suddenly more awake than he had been when he arrived.

"Triads have never caused us a problem before. They are not a terrorist group. So why are they playing silly sods like this now?" Harry barked as he walked through the Pods, slightly behind Ruth.

"I don't think this is the real deal Harry" Tariq joined in as Adam yawned.

"Keeping you awake Mr Carter?" Harry raised an eyebrow as Ruth tried and failed to stifle a yawn.

"These people seem to be using the myths surrounding the Triads to cover their own actions. Still a big deal though and they can still do some serious damage." Ros pointed at the computer screen. "Malcolm lifted this earlier from GCHQ. They were twitched by this"

"Didn't bother telling us though" Ruth glared "Talk about honest and open communication between law and security services"

"Exactly" Lucas shrugged his shoulders as he picked up the transcript and sat on the edge of Ros' desk.

"Bloody Hell" Ruth glared.

"Which is what I said. A bloody trained assassin" Lucas stared at her "So what's the plan?"

"Get me everything you have on these jokers. Briefing Room in ten minutes!" Harry barked as his phone began ringing.

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"Ok" Ruth looked straight at her husband "Who else do we have that speaks Mandarin?" Ruth raised an eyebrow "No one? No I thought not. Harry you have to trust me with this"

"You are not going undercover"

"So, we let them kill Maria Chan? Is that what you plan to do because I don't see another way" Ruth held his gaze as everyone in the room fell silent. Beth and Tariq exchanged glances.

"We need an analyst here" Harry spoke calmly. His pulse was running dangerously fast as he thought of all the other times Ruth had gone undercover. They had notoriously gone wrong, with her injured on more than one occasion.

"In two days time" Ros stared "Maria Chan will be in the country. She is the most well respected business woman in China. It is one of the worlds most influential superpowers. Even America are nervous of the chinese' economy these days. Ruth is right, we need to stop whoever this is from killing her"

"Harry, if Chan is murdered on British soil it will throw the talks into disarray. We all know how bad the economy is. The UK would be bankrupt in 24 hours. And worse than that it would kick off World War 3, it would be worse than Nightingale all over again" Adam watched as Lucas glared at the oak table in front of them.

"I understand the bloody problem" Harry barked.

"Right then" Ros pushed herself away from the wall "That's settled. Malcolm set up legends for myself, Zaf and Ruth. Tariq sort out comms for all of us. Adam get us an in with the Chinese Embassy. Anything that gets Ruth and I in the delegation. Lucas, Beth, Dimitri I want you to check out the venue. Plans and deeds, who else is there. That sort of thing. Zoe, I am trusting you with the analysis on this." Zoe nodded.

"Ok" Zoe took a deep breath as Tariq smiled.

"Need I remind you all" Harry spoke calmly as he turned his gaze briefly at Ruth "If this goes wrong it may well affect the future of Section D. We are all still being watched closely" Lucas closed his eyes "But if another security service is running a black op on our territory I want it stopped. I don't care if it the CIA, Mossad or the local WI." He stod effectively ending the meeting as Ros smirked. This case was definatley going to be interesting, she only hoped it wouldn't be their last.

**A/N okay? Please let me know what you think :D**


	2. Chapter 2 Here Come the Girls

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Here Come the Girls**

Ruth stared out over the London skyline as she thought about the argument with Harry in the Briefing Room. The whole team knew she was the only one who spoke any of the oriental languages. Even if she hated the idea of going undercover, there really was no one else to do it. The majority of the team spoke a mix of Russian, Chechnyan, Welsh, Urdu and French. Most of them weren't fluent. Malcolm spoke Welsh fluently, Tariq and Zaf both spoke Urdu and Punjabi but she was the only one who spoke fluent Mandarin. She stared at the cars passing Thames House hundreds of feet below them as she remembered the last time she had gone in to the field. It had resulted in her, Adam being held hostage. The time before that she was held hostage by Oliver Mace as Lucas had nursed a fractured cheek bone. She shook her head, it was safe to say her and undercover work did not really go well together.

"So this is where you are hiding" Ros stated as she crossed to the edge of the roof.

"So it would seem" Ruth turned slightly as the early morning mist seemed to envelop her friend.

"You don't have to do this, Zaf and I have been undercover so many times it's ridiculous but you don't have to do this" Ros watched as Ruth raised an eyebrow.

"Malcolm sorted the legends out yet?"

"Talking to Zaf now" Ros smirked. It was clear Ruth was not going to be talked out of going undercover. "He'll sort it out for us. It'll be done before lunch. The delegation is arriving at Heathrow in the next six hours. The Redflash only came through when it did because Sam managed to get the Intel released before that idiot she works for had time to debate whether we should know there is a trained assasin on UK soil"

"Hitman"

"Yeah, well we went after one before. We'll sort it" Ros leant against the barrier as Ruth nodded. "Even if I have to put Zoe on Analysis"

Ruth smiled slightly. She knew Ros didn't really trust Zoe when it came to working from the Grid. Zoe was always a field agent but she had a tendancy to ignore her instinct and try to stick to protocol. The exact opposite of Ros.

"Zoe will manage. Anyway she'll have Tariq, Malcolm and Harry here too. I'll still be able to get my hands on some of the information. I'll still be able to do some of the analysis" Ruth turned away from the city as Ros smirked.

"Ok, Cinderella. A word to the wise" Ros watched as Ruth raised her eyebrows. "You going into the field is not a good idea. It never is but right now we have no choice. We need you there. But if you are stupid enough to get yourself killed it will kill Harry."

Ruth glared at her as Ros paused. "Oh don't look at me like that. You didn't see him after the last time you 'died'. You didn't see him when you were in hospital, when we found out Mace had lifted you or when Adam turned up after leaving you with Davidson and Blake. I did. I know what it will do to him. Harry is my friend and I wont watch him go through that again. You even get close to ending up in hospital again and I will personally see to it that you are pulled from this op, whether we need your language skills or not"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence" Ruth stared at her.

"You're welcome" Ros pushed herself away from the barrier.

"How did Lucas cope when it was you hurt? I could say the same thing about you" Ruth watched as Ros nodded and turned back to her.

"Difference is Lucas knew what he was getting into when he met me. You Ruth Pearce seem to have developed a skill for finding danger and sod the consequences to everyone around you. I know because I've always had it and I know this job will probably be the death of me at some point. You on the other hand are a desk officer. You are supposed to be safe" Ros watched as Ruth sighed.

"Yeah? Tell that to Colin" She sighed as Ros stepped back.

"You are not doing this as a suicide mission. For one thing Amy and James need their Godmother" Ros watched as Ruth closed her eyes.

"My point is this job is what it is. Doesn't matter if you are the DG or the cleaner, it's dangerous and we accept that. So let me do my job" Ruth watched as Ros smiled slightly. She knew her friend was going to get through the op, but she dreaded to think what the effect could be if it all went wrong.

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"Ok" Tariq handed Zaf a very small tie pin as he explained how it worked.

"I have to wear a tie?" Zaf looked appauled at the idea. Adam smirked as he looked as his old friend.

"Younis you are part of the UK Delegation to the Trade Conference where we just might have to beg the Chinese to play ball and save our arses. You wear a tie" Adam was clearly enjoying himself.

"Remind we why aren't you going undercover?" Zaf glared.

"Because Ros chose you" Adam folded his arms "And she is the boss"

"Must be because of my charm and outstanding abilities in the field" Zaf laughed as Adam and Tariq both pulled faces. Malcolm walked across to them as he handed Zaf a file.

"Learn, inwardly digest and then stop moaning" Malcolm returned to his desk and picked up two very similar files labelled ROS and RUTH in black letters and EYES ONLY written in bright red letters underneath. Zaf sighed as he flopped back in his chair as he read the name out "I am now Mr Naveen Khan, assistant to the trade minister. Great, politicians" He sighed as the Pod doors opened to allow Ruth and Ros onto the Grid.

"Ok, who are we?" Ros picked up the file and read her new identity. "Rachel Ann North? Naveen's girlfriend. Oh great" She shot Malcolm a filthy look as he smiled.

"It gives you an excuse to see each other" Malcolm watched as both Harry and Lucas smirked. "Safe House C in the West End is yours for the op too. You and Zaf live together and Ruth is your lodger"

"Ruth?" Zoe turned to her friend. "How about you?"

"Well" She smiled as she read her file. "It seems Adam really has done his magic. We have an in with the Chinese Embassy. I'm it. Catherine Ann Price. Translator. It seems Maria Chen doesn't speak very good english, unlike her predecessor so I'm her translator" Ruth smiled. "Oh God, I hope she only speaks either Mandarin or Cantonese. If she speaks Wu then I am stuffed" Ruth watched as Ros and Harry exchanged glances.

"Quark?" Lucas wasn't sure whether she was joking.

"Honestly it's shocking" Ruth shook her head "Ok, what next?"

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Dimitri walked through the park hoping that his asset was going to be of some use. It had been a couple of years since he had left the SBS but he still had contacts. He approached the park bench where a blonde woman the same age as him was sat staring out over the children's play area.

"Jackie" Dimitri sat down. "How is Rob these days?"

"A pain in the arse, same as he always was" She didn't turn to look at him. Her Ipod headphones stayed in as she watched her five year old hang upside down from a climbing frame.

"You?"

"Dim, you came to get some information and I am guessing it isn't to do with the state of my marriage. You know when Rob came back from Iraq he was a different man. You both joked you wrestle sharks for fun. Well this time Rob was the one that got bitten" She dug her hand in her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Sorry Jackie" Dimitri closed his eyes as he faced her.

"Don't be. Just be careful. One day you'll be a husband and father. Maybe then you'll realise that playing boy soldiers isn't all fun and games"

"Rob saved my life" Dimitri watched as she nodded. "I'll always be grateful to him"

"Yeah" Jackie briefly looked at him. "Well prove it. Stop these people causing another war where our boys and girls end up fighting for a cause they don't even understand. A cause most people can't their heads around"

"Thank you" Dimitri kissed her cheek as he shoved the paper in his pocket as he watched the little boy right himself on the climbing frame. For a moment the blonde child looked achingly familiar but he dismissed the thought the moment it entered his head. That way was the way to madness, now he had to deal with the work, with keeping his friends safe.

"Don't thank me Dimitri, just make sure no one ever finds out that information came from me" She stood and walked a few paces away "Andy! Andy, come on!" She held out her hand as the boy ran to her. Dimitri watched for a few seconds before standing and walking back the way he had came. He couldn't help but smile as he remembered Beth was waiting for him.

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Harry watched Ruth through the safety of his office window. The others had all gone to meet assets or to finish the set up. Those that weren't going to be needed until the evening had gone home, leaving Harry and Ruth the only people on the Grid. He knew she was aware of his gaze but he didn't care. He had no idea when she would be back on the Grid once she had gone undercover so he didn't feel guilty about watching her. _What are you trying to prove? That you can do this? Why? We know you can do this. I know you can. There has to be another way. _He smiled as his computer bleeped as she looked up and caught his eye.

**MESSAGE **

**FROM R.E : Stop worrying. I will be fine.**

He shook his head and smirked as he saw her stand up and grab a handful of files as she walked towards his office. He turned away and picked up his phone as she opened the door, barged in and dumped the files on his desk.

"Harry"

"Hello Ruth" He placed the phone back on his desk as she closed the door behind her.

"Why don't you think I can do this?" She was putting up the walls again and Harry hated it. He knew things had been difficult for her, that the trip to Exeter had been a nightmare in so many ways. He watched as she stared at the notepad on his desk.

"I know you can do this. You are right, you are the only one that speaks the same language as Maria Chen. If we don't stop these idiots murdering her then World War 3 is a distinct possiblility. She is probably the only person on the planet that the Chinese trust with their international finances. The Americans are desperate to remain in China's good books. We have to maintain relations between the three countries. Heaven knows no one really trusts the Chinese Government, or the Russians for that matter. We have to find out who wants her dead and why they are using the Trade Conference to do it. All we know so far is that the killer is probably from her home country" Harry stood and crossed the room to her. "All I know is" He paused as Ruth stared at him "Is that I am scared stiff that you and the other two are walking into something you can't walk out of"

"Harry, Zaf and Ros are more than capable of doing their jobs. And so am I" Ruth glanced away as she saw the flash of hurt cross his face.

"Ruth" He rested his hands on her shoulders "You go undercover tonight. The only contact I will be able to have with you will be when you are able to ring in. That thought alone is killing me. I know you can do this. I know the other two are more than capable but I know that knowledge is not going to be enough to stop me praying that everytime the phone rings it isn't the police telling me I have to identify a body. I've lived through that once, I know I wont be able to live through it again" He closed his eyes as Ruth stood staring at him silently.

"You had a phone call to identify my body" She wanted to burst into tears as he nodded.

"Before you went. They found a girl's body in the Thames. They thought it was you. Adam and I" He held her gaze "He came with me, I thought you knew"

Ruth shook her head. No one had ever told her how people were led to believe she had died. She had never really asked, as long as Harry was safe she didn't care. She had never really thought about how the plan to save Harry all that time ago had really affected him. He closed his eyes as she touched his face.

"You wont get another call like that" She pulled him towards her and kissed him chastely on the lips. "I am coming home Harry. I am not going to get myself killed, I won't end up in hospital. I have something to come home to these days, someone"

"God Ruth" Harry tightened his hold on her.

"I am not leaving you. I will be home." Ruth kissed him again "Tariq has come up with some little gadgets so you can see and hear me every minute if you want to. I am not Jo. I wont use this job to kill myself, not now"

Harry nodded as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly. If he wasn't going to be in the same room as her for a while he was going to make sure she knew exactly how he felt.

**A/N Just a little filler chapter. Is Ros right to be worried, and what information did Jackie give Dimitri? Can the Trade Delegation be protected and why is Maria Chen so important? Please review. **


	3. Chapter 3 Show Time

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Show Time**

Maria Chen stared across the airport as a young asian man in a smart suit and a brunette woman about the same age as her began to approach her. She smiled, realising that the couple had to be the delegates from the UK side of the Conference. She waited alongside her body guard as she watched them approah.

"Maria Chen?" Zaf asked as she nodded "I'm Naveen Kahn, this is Cath Price" He gestered to Ruth as he spoke. Maria frowned as Ruth repeated what he had just said in perfect Mandarin.

"Ah" Maria smiled "You are what? Translator? You speak for me?"

Ruth smiled slightly, trying to hide the shock that Maria had learnt a little English. Zaf nodded, able to cover his surprise easily as he ushered them all towards a waiting car where Adam was waiting to chauffer them to the hotel where the delegations from various countries were due to meet.

"You learnt English? I think I may be surplus to requirements" Ruth smiled slightly as she spoke in Mandarin. She knew Zaf and Adam had no idea what she had said while Tariq and Zoe were probably trying to run it through Bablefish as she spoke. She knew Harry could hear her and was probably trying to order her back to the Grid, even though at that moment she couldn't hear him.

"No" Maria shook her head. "I" She paused as she tried to find the right English word but then simply shook her shoulders. "Much to learn"

"You are doing very well" Zaf ushered them into the car as Adam started the engine. He smirked slightly as Adam ignored them all and just began to drive through the London streets.

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"Any news?" Harry barked as Malcolm rolled his eyes.

"Zaf and Ruth have collected Chen from Heathrow as planned. Adam is taking them to the hotel" Malcolm answered. Tariq continued to ignore the rest of the team around them. Harry's temper was legendary and he did not want to be on the recieving end of one of his rants.

"Good" Harry barked as Beth joined them.

"The Conference Centre is huge" She stated "There are four exits, not including fire exits. So in total there are at least eight ports of entry and egress from the building. Dimitri and Lucas have had the place bugged and here is the Itinery for the conference" She handed Harry a piece of A4 paper. "Dimitri has the schematics of the building. Adam has a copy and Zoe is talking to the UK Trade Envoy. So at the moment all bases are covered. We even have the plods on our side" Beth held Harry's gaze as he took the piece of paper.

"Thank you" Harry sighed. He knew he was being over bearing. But he was worried sick. Ruth did not go in the field unless they were really in trouble. He hated her not being on the Grid. It just felt wrong. He felt sick, however irrational he was being he couldn't help but remember the times after she had left. Everywhere he looked on the Grid he had thought he had seen her. Now was no different, even though he knew she was still in London it felt like she had walked out of his life again.

"Ros is at the hotel waiting for them" Malcolm explained as the CCTV footage changed to show the car pulling up outside the top hotel in London.

"Here we go" Tariq muttered as Harry folded his arms and stared at the screen.

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Ros was bored. She hated waiting for an op to really get underway. She smiled as the barman handed her another drink.

"You here for the conference luv?" He smiled as Ros narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, I'm a journalist. Apparently this is going to be a big deal. Well, my editor thinks so anyway" She lied easily as she drank the lemonade in front of her. The barman nodded.

"Yeah, seems so"

"You know who's going to be here then?"

"Some of them. I know a few are staying here. Like that woman on the news last night? You know the one? Chinese bird. Runs the big oil company" He struggled to remember her name as Ros smiled sweetly.

"I think I know who you mean"

"Yeah, well there's her and a few Russians, Germans, Americans on the list. Well they are staying here" He was putty in Ros' hands as she flirted with him.

"Really? I need to get the big scoop here. My editor is just looking for ways to fire me" She sighed as she saw him run his eyes over her.

"Fire you"

"Liable case last year. Very messy. Mess up one more time and I'm out" She watched him almost melt as her eyes filled with tears. _This is easier than I thought it would be. Men! Suckers for a blonde with a sob story. _She sniffed as she stared into her drink. The barman held her hand as she made a show of composing herself.

"Well we'll just have to see what we can do" He held her gaze just a little too long as Ros felt her stomach turn. _I don't think so, I have socks older than you and I'm sorry but there is no way I am cheating on my husband, even if it is to get information that may benefit national security. _She sighed heavily and faked a smile as she saw Ruth walk across to her.

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Dimitri sat at his desk as Beth sat next to him. He had been in a foul mood since they had returned from the park. Beth placed a mug of coffee in front of him.

"Ok spit it out"

"Beth"

"Don't Beth me. You have been in a mood since we got back from meeting your asset." She watched as he shrugged his shoulders.

"It's nothing"

"I don't believe you. For someone in our line of work you are a useless liar" Beth smiled slightly as she saw him look up. The coffee remained untouched on the desk in front of them.

"Leave it Beth, please"

"Since when have you known me leave anything alone?" She touched his hand as he looked away. "You are really beginning to worry me"

"Sorry" Dimitri sighed "It was just seeing Jackie today. Brought back a few memories I'd rather not dwell on"

"Such as?" Beth stood and leant against his desk, so that she was almost directly in front of him. _Prepare yourself Beth, this is the speech you knew was coming one day. I met someone. We can still be friends yeah? I don't fancy you anymore, I don't love you. _She watched as he took her hand in his larger ones.

"Such as Jackie is the wife of one of the blokes I was at sea with. He left the SBS too. Only now he's in a wheelchair and I'm not. He's got a five year old kid and a wife relying on him and I let him down" He shrugged as he looked away from Beth's gaze. He knew he was talking in riddles as far as she was concerned but he couldn't really explain why he felt so guilty. He was scared she would run a mile if he did.

"What happened?" Beth saw him close his eyes.

"Iraq"

"You SBS boys spend alot of time in the desert?" She raised an eyebrow as Dimitri laughed.

"Not as a rule no. But there is a bloody great bit of water in that area. You may have heard of the Gulf" He watched as she blushed.

"Er yeah" Beth was saved from further embarrassment as the phone designated for Ruth and the others to call in with updates began to ring.

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Ruth walked up and down her small hotel room waiting for Harry to answer. She knew Zaf was calling in on the approved line but she just needed to hear Harry's voice. She had no idea when she would be able to talk to him again. She cursed when he still hadn't answered on the fourth ring. She was just about to hang up when he answered.

"Harry"

"Are you ok?" Harry paced his office as he spoke "What happened? Why are you not using the official line?"

"Yes" Ruth smiled "Because this is the only chance I am going to have to speak to you this week. Look Chen knows a little English. Not enough to be fluent but a little. She is meeting with the other delegates tomorrow morning at 8 am. Then there is another meeting the next day. It looks like Naveen and I are going to be tied up for at least twelve to fifteen hours" She paused "Rachel is the only one who is going to be able to contact base"

"I miss you" Harry almost sighed as he spoke. Ruth closed her eyes.

"Then there is the Ball on Friday. To me that seems to be the only time an assasin could make his move." Ruth smiled as she pictured Harry pacing his office and thinking about what she was telling him.

"You do know Naveen is probably telling Beth all this as we speak?" He answered as Ruth sat on the bed in the hotel room.

"Yes and he is probably also telling her that we have been told to stay in the hotel, so it's only Rachel that will be able to leave the hotel for the duration of the op. I am going to be stuck with the delegation until the op is over" She sighed.

"Friday. Get me details of the Ball. I will speak to Towers, get extra security there. May even get CO19 or Red Troop on standby" He undid his top button on his shirt as he spoke.

"Ok" Ruth closed her eyes. "I have to go"

"Ok"

"Oh and Harry?" She knew the raised voices along the corridor were going to force her to end her conversation.

"Yes?" He stood staring out of the office window at her empty desk.

"I miss you too"

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**A/N just a short chapter. Thankyou for all the reviews so far. More soon :D**


	4. Chapter 4 Identity

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Identity?**

Beth closed her eyes as she tried to force herself to go to sleep. She was worried about Dimitri, it seemed it was only a matter of time before he told her what was wrong but she had a feeling whatever was worrying him was more personal than professional. She sighed as she rolled on to her back and stared at the ceiling. Things had changed between her and Dimitri since New Year and she couldn't be happier at the fact but now he seemed to be pulling away from her and it scared her more than anything she had faced since she had joined Section D. She closed her eyes and turned her thoughts to Zaf and the girls wondering how they were getting on in the field.

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Zaf met Ros in the hotel bar as planned. He smiled as he sat down next to her, glad that the bar was unnaturally quiet for the time of day. He watched as she glanced towards the barman, still uncertain whether she could use the man as an unwilling asset.

"Hi" Zaf turned on his best charm smile.

"You ok?" Ros smiled slightly in return as she asked. Zaf nodded as he looked across the bar, following Ros' gaze. The barman glared.

"Right, what's his problem?" Zaf looked at Ros "Kid serving behind the bar shooting me evils"

"Fancies me" Ros stated matter of factly "I did the damsel in distress routine and he was stupid enough to fall for it"

"Never took you as the damsel type" Zaf smiled and shook his head as she reached across the table and took his hand in hers, keeping the legend Malcolm had created going. Zaf raised an eyebrow.

"No? Well he did"

"Poor sod" Zaf laughed as Ros nodded, scanning the room for Ruth. The longer it took for Ruth to make the meet the more Ros didn't like it. She knew what Ruth was like for finding trouble and just once hoped her gut instinct that one of her team was in trouble was wrong.

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Zoe stared at the depleted team as Harry took his place at the Briefing Room table. She missed Zaf but the absence of Ruth, Ros and Zaf from the meeting just made the loss all the more tangible. She smiled as she realised it wasn't just her that missed them. Ros should have been stood in her customary place in front of the cupboard, Zaf should have been teasing Ruth and Tariq while Ruth should have been sat next to Harry glaring at the file in front of her as the rest of the team practically watched the brain cells firing off in her head. Instead it was left to Zoe and Malcolm to come up with the information that would save the day. And Zoe had never been more nervous in her life.

"Zoe?" Adam prompted her as she turned to the team.

"Yes, well" She pressed the on button on the white board at the front of the room. "Maria Chen, aged 41. Single, no children. The only child of Su Li Ming and her second husband Li Chen. Became the CEO of the East's biggest Oil Company when her father died. Heart attack in June last year"

"She hasn't been in charge very long" Tariq mused as Harry raised an eyebrow.

"No, but that hasn't stopped her making enemies" Zoe continued "Of course there are always going to be the old chauvanists that don't want a woman in charge of a major firm like that but she also made enemies due to her intention to move the company away from using fossil fuels."

"Isn't that what her company would want? To produce and sell oil? Isn't that why she is at the Trade conference to begin with?" Dimitri asked as Zoe nodded.

"Yes, but she had been very vocal in her desire to drag the company into the 21st Century" Zoe folded her arms as she spole.

"Sounds like something from Superman" Beth smiled as she shook her head.

"No, they did it on Top Gear a couple of years ago. Cow Pats as fuel" Tariq looked up as Adam and Lucas nodded. Harry sighed.

"Ok, so car programmes aside" Harry glared at his field officers "Is Maria Chen upsetting people to the extent they want her dead? If so when and where is this assasination to take place?"

"Yes she was" Malcolm sighed as all eyes fell on him. "I, er, well that is to say I took the liberty of bugging Ruth, as she is the one who is most likely to spend the most time with Chen. Ruth knew I was bugging her, she was going to try to bug Chen at some point. I think she has been succesful"

"Ok Malcolm" Lucas spoke calmly "What does Ruth's bug tell us?"

"Maria Chen." Malcolm took a deep breath and avoided everyone's gaze. "Well, Maria Chen is not Maria Chen"

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Ruth walked through the hotel bar as Maria and the body guard walked towards her. Ruth smiled slightly as she saw Maria notice her. Every sense in her body told her something was wrong. It all felt incredibly wrong, but then she reasoned she had a feeling she was being watched since the moment she had met Maria. Something about the hotel felt wrong, something about the delegates felt wrong. She walked towards the other woman hoping that the bug she was carrying and the CCTV cameras had picked up what she was doing as she realised Ros and Zaf were nowhere to be seen.

"Hello" Maria smiled at her as she spoke in English. Ruth smiled back. Maria shrugged and slipped back into Manderin.

"I am to meet today with the American and British delegates. This is in one hours time" Maria watched as Ruth nodded.

"I know" Ruth replied in Mandarin as she glanced up at the security cameras. She just hoped someone was watching.

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"Maria Chen is not Maria Chen?" Harry tried not to explode.

"No" Malcolm looked towards Zoe for clarification. Zoe nodded.

"I did some digging" Zoe folded her arms. "Everything I just said about Maria Chen is true. Apart from the fact she was found dead forty eight hours ago"

"Care to elaborate?" Harry stated rather than asked. Lucas swore quietly under his breath as Malcolm seemed to get increasingly flustered.

"Maria Chen was killed three days ago" Malcolm continued. "Her body was found in a suitcase forty eight hours ago. Just as we recieved the redflash to say we had a potential problem"

"So who is this woman?" Lucas asked. Adam stood and walked towards the white board.

"She is Mai Su Yung" Malcolm stared at the image on the screen "Same age as Maria, same type of background. Chinese by birth but works for various organisations as an assassin"

"You mean to tell me the hitman has already killed the target and is now in the UK at the most prestigeous trade conference ever to be held here? That the woman in that photograph is the hitman and now has access to some of the most powerful people on the planet?" _And she's with Ruth! Ruth, Ros and Zaf are inadvertantly trying to protect the person we are trying to catch? Ruth is in trouble and this time she doesn't know it._ Harry looked around the table.

"Right" Adam turned to the assembled spooks. "First we warn our people in there. Second we find the real target and thirdly we stop Mai and her friends."

"Get hold of Ros" Harry looked at Lucas "Warn her we have a problem. I don't care how we do it but our officers are coming out of there before any of them get killed. Beth, Dimitri get over to the cousins. See what they know. I'd bet my pension they are holding out on us. Adam, you and Malcolm put the squeeze on our counterparts in Legoland."

"Harry?" Zoe turned to him.

"Zoe and I are going to the Chinese Embassy. This stops today" Harry stood as the assembled spooks began to disperse from the room. It was only Beth that hung back as Harry covered his eyes with his hand.

"Harry?"

"Yes Beth"

"Ruth will be ok. I know it's all a bit soon after her Mum but she will be ok" Beth smiled slightly as Harry nodded.

"Thank you Beth" He sighed. He just hoped his junior officer was right.

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Zaf looked around the conference room as the various delegates made their way into the room. He knew Maria Chen and Ruth were due to arrive just after he had, while Ros was intending on getting into the delegates rooms and planting a few bugs. She also had to contact base for an update. He looked around the room and sighed with relief as Ruth walked in, just ahead of Maria. He could see Maria was talking as Ruth closed her eyes and glanced at the floor. Something in the way Ruth was holding herself was wrong. She looked as if she had seen a ghost but Zaf knew right at that moment he had to trust her to do the job and just hoped she could keep herself together until he could find out what was wrong.

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Ruth looked around the busy conference room as Zaf caught her eye. She was relieved to see he was there in one piece. She felt sick. The woman she was supposed to be translating for knew English perfectly well. It seemed Maria Chen spoke English as well as Ruth did. She turned as the bodyguard whispered something in her ear. Ruth nodded as she looked around to see Zaf talking to a member from the British delegation. _Work it out Zaf, work it out. She is not Maria Chen. She is not the person we thought she is. Work it out Zaf! _Ruth stepped away from the body guard and froze. She was certain she was in the middle of one of her nightmares. She would wake up any second to find Harry next to her and Scarlett barking to be let out. She tried to control her breathing as the chairman began making his speach. _No, it can't be. He's dead he can't be here. _Ruth felt her legs turn to jelly as she spotted the older man cross the room to where Zaf was stood. She couldn't believe her eyes. The man talking to Andrew Lawrence and stood next to Zaf had killed himself over a decade ago. She closed her eyes and tried to focus as the chairman ended his speach.

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Ros walked into the room where Zaf was staying, glad to have a few minutes on her own. So far she had managed to persuade at least half a dozen people she was a journalist for one of the financial columns in the national papers. She just couldn't believe what she had seen as she had walked back along the corridor. The anger was almost too much and she barely resisted the urge to scream. Instead she sat on the bed and picked up the phone.

"Harry" Ros spoke as he answered.

"Yes"

"This is a set up. Has been from the start."

"What makes you say that?" Harry had a feeling she was right. He hadn't liked anything about the way the op had gone from the moment Ruth had decided to go undercover.

"It stinks, either get us an out or get us back-up. Maria Chen is not the real target" Ros walked across the room and sat on the floor with her back against the door.

"You know who the real target is?" Harry paused as she swore. "Ros?"

"Yes, I think our trade delegation is the target."

"Andrew?"

"Yes. Andrew Lawrence is the target" Ros ran a hand through her blonde hair " And us"

**A/N Well who did Ruth see? Is Ros right to be worried? Can Harry and the others help? Please review xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Scared**

Ros stared at the plush hotel carpet as she tried to process everything Harry had told her. Maria Chen was dead. Maria Chen had never left Hong Kong. The woman Ruth and Zaf were with was not Maria Chen. She swore profusely as she stared at the carpet. There was no way she could get to Ruth and Zaf in time to warn them. Andrew Lawrence was the new Shadow Cabinet trade spokesman. He was also the most likely taget. _And there is no way I can tell them while they are both in the conference room. Shit shit shit. The woman posing as Maria Chen is going to kill the former Home Secretary. How many more times am I going to have to save his bloody neck!_

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Ruth blinked as she tried to control the nausea that washed over her. She smiled slightly as the bodyguard smiled at her. It seemed the much larger man had taken a shine to her. That in itself worried her, she had a feeling that the woman she was interperating for was not the woman she was trying to make her believe. The mandarin was slightly too perfect. It was as if she had learnt the language recently. There were no colloqualisms, no jargon. _If someone speaks the language all their lives then they begin to use slang, dialect. _She shook her head, there was no way the woman with her was a natural Mandarin speaker.

"Ah Ruth" Maria turned to her.

"Yes" Ruth answered in Mandarin as the woman smiled. Ruth stepped a little nearer, pushing all thoughts of the man she had seen to the back of her mind. She was there to work.

"The man with the blonde hair. Who is he?"

"The British Shadow Cabinet spokesman" Ruth answered in Cantonese. A flash of understanding crossed the other woman's face. Ruth smiled slightly. It was obvious she had been understood but it seemed that her charge spoke Cantonese more easily than Mandarin. _Got you. _Ruth sighed. She was about to repeat the phrase in Mandarin when the lights went out.

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Harry pinched his nose and glared as he thought about what was happening at the Trade Conference. He had no real way of getting in and removing his team. Malcolm and Tariq remained quiet as he stared over their shoulders at the screen.

"Who's that?" Beth pointed at the man in the navy suit. "Just behind Zaf"

"Dunno" Tariq pulled the screen in to sharper focus, so that only the image of the man Beth had asked about filled the screen.

"No" Malcolm sighed as he turned to Harry. Beth was concerned, she had no idea why the two older men were so worried. Harry's eyes widened slightly as the man on the screen turned towards Andrew Lawrence before walking away.

"We should get Ruth out" Malcolm watched as Harry nodded. Malcolm could see Harry was terrified, only Malcolm knew Harry well enough to see he was terrified. Ruth was stuck in the most prestigious conference in recent history with a trained assassin and a man that was supposed to be dead. Harry was more than terrified.

"How?" Harry closed his eyes.

"How? Why have we got to get Ruth out?" Beth spun in her chair and faced Harry.

"We can't, not until the ball on Thursday. If that woman kills Andrew Lawrence then we are in serious trouble" Tariq shrugged as Harry nodded. _How many times has Ruth shouted at me for treating her differently? How many times has she told me she can do this? Asked me to trust her? I can't treat her any differently to Zaf or Ros. Even though she is different. So different. _He shook his head slightly as he glared at the man on the screen. He had wondered what his reaction to the man would be if he saw him but had really believed he was dead. _You killed yourself, in 1999 you killed yourself, yet here you are back in London. Now how exactly did you manage it? How did you fake your death?_

"Get me Lucas and Adam. I want them at the hotel." Harry glared. "If we can't get our people out without causing more problems we have to get more people in there. Zoe"

Zoe turned as she heard Harry mention her name.

"Yes"

"You worked as a waitress once?"

"I was 15" Zoe shrugged "Oh Harry, what?"

"Ros believes the assasination attempt will take place when the confrence has finished. The most likely time is at the Ball to close the conference offically" Harry watched as Dimitri smirked. Zoe and Beth nodded.

"So we make sure we are all there. I don't know what the woman posing as Maria Chen is playing at but she is not killing anyone on my watch. If I find out this is a black op by another security force then I want to know"

Harry marched back to his office before anyone could answer him. Malcolm shook his head and stared at the screen. He knew Ruth would be aware that she wasn't the only person there lying about who she was. He just prayed she hadn't spotted the man Beth had noticed on the CCTV.

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"A word" Zaf took Andrew by the elbow and almost dragged him to the other side of the room, he knew the CCTV had probably picked up the interaction and just hoped someone was watching back at the Grid.

"Hello" Andrew chocked out the word nervously.

"Right, just so we are clear" Zaf smiled "You have walked right into a Section D op. You know who we all are. Keep out of the way yeah"

"Look, Za"

"Naveen" Zaf corrected. "Look we are here to do our job, not stop anything you are trying to do. See the brunette over there? With the chinese woman? That's Cathy Price. The blonde I am with. That's Rachel. Slip up, mention our names and you've just killed us. It's as simple as that" Zaf stared at the taller man.

"I" Andrew started.

"Got it? Good" Zaf smiled as he saw Ruth walk towards him "Try not to get yourself kelled eh? Give my love to Chris." Zaf walked away as he saw Ruth try to regain her composure. Just for a second her mask had slipped. Zaf hoped it was just him that had realised how scared the analyst really was.

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Harry marched along the corridors of the Chinese Embassy alongside Zoe as he tried to maintain his composure.

"So much for co operating with the intelligence services" Zoe shook her head as Harry continued to march along next to her.

"Quite"

"What do we do now? You said we can't get the others out. We can't even talk to them properly until one of them rings in with an update" Zoe was worried sick about Zaf, she knew there was a fair chance she was being paranoid but he did seem to attract trouble whenever he was in the field without her or Adam.

"Nothing" Harry was clearly agitated "All we can do is make sure we have the intel needed when they get in contact. Adam and Lucas are on their way there at the moment. William Towers is trying to contact Andrew Lawrence but as there is no love lost there I hardly think he is going to go that far out of his way to help" Harry almost broke the button to the lift when he repeatedly pressed the button to call the lift to take them back to the first floor.

"But"

"Look Zoe" Harry turned to her "I don't like it either. But we go in there now we risk blowing their cover. It's too dangerous."

"How are Adam and Lucas going to get there without doing that then?" Zoe hissed as she stood next to him in the lift.

"They'll find a way" Harry pinched his nose. He just prayed he was right.

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The Conference went on for hours. Zaf wondered if it was true, you could really die of boredom. The last session of the afternoon drew to a close as he realised he hadn't spoken to Ros or Ruth for hours. He blinked back the tiredness as he made his way out of the room as Maria Chen smiled at him. He stood a little straighter and smiled back as he watched her leave the room just ahead of Ruth. He stared at his friend as she turned and nodded once. It was the only signal Zaf needed. He slipped out into the corridor and walked straight into Adam.

"Hiya" Adam smiled.

"What?" Zaf walked straight past him, forcing Adam to follow him.

"Trouble"

"Ros and Ruth?"

"Meeting us in your room in the next five minutes" Adam marched ahead and slipped into the servant's lift as Zaf was left to take the long way back to his room.

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Ruth knew something was wrong. Adam had appeared in the slightly open doorway as the chairman of the conference had brought proceedings to an end. For a moment she had been terrified Adam's appearance had meant something had happened to Harry but the rational part of her mind told her to stop panicking and speak to Adam before anything else happened. The only problem now was getting away from her duties as a translator.

"Cathy?"

"Everything ok?" Ruth smiled slightly.

"I go to my room now" Maria stated in mandarin as Ruth nodded.

"I'll see you later then" Ruth nodded and tried to excuse herself from the woman and her bodyguard as the large man rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Bye" Ruth tried to shrug him off as he shook his head.

"Not yet" He tightened his hold on her. "Not yet"

"Sorry?" Ruth tried to step away as she spotted the gun appear from inside his jacket.

"I have someone who wants to meet you" Ruth felt sick as she saw the gun aimed straight at her stomach. She shook her head slightly as she maintained eyecontact. Too angry to be scared she narrowed her eyes.

"Please stop pointing that gun at me" She spoke calmly in English as she realised she was alone in the corridor with just the larger man and chinese woman for company. She just prayed the bug Malcolm had insisted she wore was working.

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Across London Tariq stared at the computer screen in front of him as he listened to Ruth talking in Mandarin. He had no idea what she had said, Bablefish was taking too long. He was beginning to get bored. No one was telling him anything. Everyone was scared and most of the others on the Grid were out, either at the conference or meeting assets. He sighed as he rested his head on one hand. It was then he heard Ruth revert to English, it was then he noticed the slightly angry tone to her voice.

"MALCOLM!" He spun in his chair as the older man spun on his heal.

"What?" Malcolm marched over to him.

"Where's Harry? We have a problem" It was then Malcolm looked at the screen and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Yes, yes it seems we do"

**A/N so is Ruth going to get out of the conference alive? Is Tariq going to be able to get help? More soon. Please review :D**


	6. Chapter 6:Still

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Still**

Ruth let the bodyguard lead her down the corridor. She was livid and acutely aware of the gun resting against her ribs. She glanced at the CCTV camera in the corner of the ceiling and prayed someone was watching back at the Grid. She tried not to think of Harry, knowing he would be worried sick if he knew what had happened. _I told him I could do this. And I will. Zaf and Ros will know I'm missing soon. I can do this. S_he tried to focus on what was going on around her rather than the fear that was building in her chest as she was pushed through the door of a hotel room. For a moment she was transported back to Havensworth, but this time there was no Harry to rescue and bemuse her. This time she really was on her own.

xxxxxx

"Where's Ruth?" Adam asked as Ros closed the bedroom door behind him.

"You know Maria Chen is not Maria Chen" Ros answered. Zaf raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Maria Chen died three days ago. Murdered, her body found in the boot of a car in down town Hong Kong. Sounds like something from a bad American Cop movie I know but that's what Harry said. I am assuming you and Lucas are here as back up" Ros glared as Adam nodded.

"Yeah, you spoke to Harry then"

"Yes"

"And where is Ruth?" Zaf was beginning to get worried about the Intel Analyst. It had become clear that Ruth was tougher than any of them thought but it was also clear that she wasn't really coping with anything else outside work. She had been quieter than usual since returning from Exeter, Ros had begun to think she was reverting to the almost shell like Ruth they had found when she had returned from Cyprus. Her quiet friend wasn't normally hard but it seemed that something had made her almost cold to everything around her. _Ice Queen is my job. So why the change in character? Your mum dying? Everything before that? Facing a few old ghosts back in Exeter? You promised me this wasn't some death wish._ Ros thought of her friend as she turned to Zaf.

"When did you see her last?"

"Conference room. She was with the woman we thought was Chen"

"Ok" Ros closed her eyes "And where is Lucas?"

"Talking to Andrew Lawrence." Adam answered as he sat on the expensive looking arm chair. "You think something has happened"

"Adam, we are in the field. With Ruth. Of course something has gone wrong" Ros wanted to scream. "If her cover has been blown there is a very high chance this woman has killed her. There is also a very high chance that they know who we are. The priority has to be getting the conference concluded the way we want. It seems by going after Lawrence they really just want to disrupt the trade treaty from going through rather than stop it all together. I mean if you want to stop it you'd kill the person with actual power rather than the shadow version"

"So we look for Ruth" Zaf stood up as Ros shook her head. Zaf was about to start arguing when Ros held up a hand.

"Keep your knickers on, you look for Ruth. Call the Grid, see what CCTV footage Malcolm and Tariq have got. They may have seen everything. Adam, find Lucas and get that idiot politican away from the conference" She pushed herself away from the door.

"Ok, what are you going to be doing?" Zaf wasn't sure he was going to like the answer. Adam smirked slightly.

"I think it's time I went ghost hunting"

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Harry felt sick. He had returned from Whitehall to see Beth and Dimitri trying to calm a decidedly panicked Malcolm. The junior officers were certainly worked up about something.

"I've increased the frequency of the comms. If I can get down there I should be able to boost the signal" Tariq was pulling his jacket on as he spoke. Beth nodded and offered to drive him there as Harry rested a hand on her shoulder.

"I suggest someone here tells me what has happened" Harry looked around the team. None of them could meet his eye for a moment. Dimitri glanced at Beth as she shot him a look.

"Ok" Beth finally dragged her eyes to her boss. "But don't freak out."

"What am I not supposed to be freaking out about?" Harry felt sick. He knew there was only one thing his team would worry about him 'freaking' out over as Beth had put it.

"Tariq saw something on the CCTV from the hotel. It looks like the chinese bodyguard" Beth paused.

"Lee Wong" Dimitri interjected as Harry nodded.

"Well" Beth sighed "It looks like he pulled a gun on Ruth and now we can't find her"

"You can't find her? What about the others?" Harry tried to remain calm. It was a massive hotel, he reasoned the team hadn't looked everywhere yet. And Ruth was an intelligent woman. He had to trust her.

"Adam and Lucas are at the hotel. Look if Tariq and I can get there, we can boost the signal. You already suggested sending more of us in to act as hotel staff. It's just happening a little early thats all" Harry shook his head.

"Go" He turned. "Now, no one else is to set foot in that hotel. Malcolm you stay here with Zoe" Malcolm nodded. "Beth, Dimitri, Tariq you get to the hotel. Do not go inside. The last thing we need is anyone else going AWOL. Zoe, get a message to Ros, let her know what we know"

"Ok" Zoe picked up her phone as she spoke. He glared at the CCTV footage Malcolm was staring at and sent up a silent prayer to a God he was sure had abandoned him long ago would be listening now.

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Ruth was verging on the catatonic she was so angry. Glaring at Maria Chen she sat down, still determined to remain in cover she waited until Maria had closed the door.

"What is this about?" Ruth spoke in Mandarin.

"You know what it is about and I suggest you drop the Mandarin now. You can see I speak English well enough" Maria smiled.

"Excuse me" Ruth got to her feet and ran to the bathroom as Maria waved to Wong to put the gun down as she followed Ruth into the bathroom. She winced as she heard Ruth dry heaving into the toilet.

"You are sick" Maria stepped into the bathroom as Ruth flushed the chain and pretended to get herself under control.

"Yes, sorry about that" Ruth rested her head on her hands. Her palms wet with water from the tap as she ran her hand through her hair.

"What is wrong Cathy?"

"Like you care. You wont have to shoot me soon. Before long my blood sugar will drop even lower and I'll go into a diabetic coma."

"Oh my God. I just assumed you were sick this morning because you are pregnant. I see the wedding ring" Cathy glared as Ruth shook her head bitterly. Neither woman was aware Tariq had got Ruth's bug working perfectly. Harry and Malcolm on the Grid could hear everything.

"I wish" Ruth sighed slightly "Yes I am married. He works away. Look I need my insulin and something to eat or I am going to pass out. My blood glucose will drop and I will pass out" Ruth knew very little about diabetes but remembered her aunt Jessica always having to eat and make sure she had her insulin at certain times of the day. She breathed heavily as if trying to quell her nausea as Maria fell silent. "Why did you pull the gun on me anyway?" Ruth turned to her.

"You are a British spy"

"Oh my God" Ruth shook her head "Do I look like James Bond to you?"

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Harry closed his eyes as he heard Ruth speak. He was relieved Tariq had managed to get the bug working and that Ruth was still wearing it.

"She isn't diabetic, is she?" Malcolm turned to Harry as he shook his head.

"No"

"Oh"

"She's just a bloody good actress" Harry smiled slightly. She was alive, that was all that mattered at the moment. He could worry about everything else now he knew she was alive.

"Seems Tariq being nearer and boosting the signal means we can hear them all better. Ruth getting Maria to follow her into the bathroom means the signal is even more clearer" Malcolm explained "The acoustics in the bathroom are always better for signal conduction"

Harry smiled. For some reason he knew Ruth would have known that.

"Malcolm stay here" He walked towards the Pods as Malcolm turned to face him.

"Harry, you can't do this"

"Yes I can. I can't keep sending my team, some of them not much more than kids to what could be their deaths when I sit in my bloody office. I have to go" Harry was through the Pods before Malcolm could argue.

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Lucas dragged Andrew into his hotel room as the politican stared at him wide eyed.

"Andrew"

"Hello"

"I need the hotel room numbers of Maria Chen and Lee Wong"

"Who?" Andrew stared at the dark haired spook as Lucas narrowed his eyes.

"Andrew listen to me. The trade conference is being used by these people to kill you. I don't know why but I do know you are in danger." Lucas watched as Andrew frowned.

"I"

"And I remember what happened last time you and my wife were stuck in a hotel" Lucas let the thought hang in the air as Andrew looked anywhere but at Lucas.

"Look, I don't know what you mean" Andrew watched as Lucas tightened his grip on Andrew's arm.

"Nightingale"

"Ah yes" Andrew had very little recollection of the hotel bomb blast which was something Lucas envied. He remembered every second of the day the hotel had been blown up. He remembered every second of waiting to hear if Ros was dead and eventually finding out she was burned and broken but on life support. It had been the longest three weeks of his life as he had waited for her to wake up. They hadn't been together then but he realised then that he was in love with her. He smiled slightly as he realised that she had taken a little while longer to believe him.

"So room numbers"

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Ruth watched as Maria walked back into the main room of the suite. The bodyguard glared at her as Maria pulled Ruth by the arm into the room.

"As I say. You are a British spy"

"And as I say you are talking nonsense" Ruth really was beginning to feel sick. "Look I need to get back to my room"

"For insulin"

"Yes" Ruth rested her head back against the wall as she started to pretend to shake slightly.

"She is lying" The bodyguard raised the gun to her head.

"No" Maria shook her head. "I don't think she is"

"I am not lying" Ruth knew she didn't have the strength to fight the man in front of her like Ros would have done. There was no way she could talk her way out of this as Zoe or Beth would have been able to. Instead she had to just stick to the legend Malcolm had given her and hope it worked. The way the gunman was staring at her she had a feeling unless she really managed to convince them she was just an interperator and that she was actually ill there was no way she was getting out of this. She closed her eyes and let her head slump to the side, all the while listening to what was going on around her.

"Cathy? Cath?" Maria shook her head as she watched Ruth. "See I told you she was an ill woman"

"If that is the case, we should put her out of her misery" Wong raised the gun as Ruth felt her pulse begin to race. She was no longer pretending to shake as she heard him click the safety catch on his gun. She resisted the urge to scream and cry as she thought of Harry and how he would hear the news of her death.

"No" Maria rested a hand on his arm "Leave her, you fire that gun now and someone will hear you. Let her be. If she dies as she said she would without the insulin, so be it"

Ruth listened intently as they left her alone. She waited where she was, immobile as she heard footsteps approach her. A sharp slap across her face almost knocked her from her chair but she remained silent and immobile. Any reaction and she knew Lee Wong would kill her.

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**A/N will Harry get to the hotel? Is Andrew Lawrence going to be killed? Can the Trade Conference be saved? Please review, more soon.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Friendship**

Ruth felt like she had been hit by a truck. She laid on the floor immobile, unsure of how long she had been unconscious for. All she remembered was the slap across her face that was hard enough to knock her from the chair she had been sat on. For all she knew that could be five minutes ago or five hours ago. She kept her eyes closed as she sensed someone leaning over her.

"Ruth"

She kept quiet as she tried to register who the voice belonged to, for a moment she was unsure where she was. All she knew was that she had to see Harry.

"Ruth" This time Lucas shook her shoulder slightly. "Come on I know you are alive, you have a pulse"

Ruth's eyes fluttered open and she immediately regretted it, forcing them closed again, a hand involuntarily rested on her abdomen.

"Lucas"

"Yeah" He smiled as she muttered his name. "Come on, lets get you back to the others"

"How?"

"Andrew Lawrence told me where you were" She frowned, wondering how the former Home Secretary had any idea of where she was. Lucas helped her to sit up as she realised she was still on the floor of Maria Chen's suite.

"I" Ruth fought the nausea. She knew she had concussion, the whole room spun as she let Lucas hold her up. She felt sick and couldn't really focus her eyes properly. "They know who I am"

"Do they know about the others? Ros?" Lucas watched as she shook her head. He didn't like how pale she looked or how she gripped his arm to steady herself.

"No" Ruth held his gaze "I didn't own up and I didn't blow their cover, you know I wouldn't" Lucas knew she was angry that he had even asked. Ruth was a master at keeping secrets. She had had a lifetime's worth of practice. Lucas nodded. He knew there was no way Ruth would have given up her friends.

"They will be back soon" Lucas watched his friend, uncertain whether he would have to carry her out of the suite or not. "We have to go"

"They think I will be dead by now. I think the slap was just to help me on my way" Ruth tried to get to her feet and grabbed his arm for support.

"Ruth"

"I'm ok" Ruth lied as Lucas nodded. "They are going to be expecting to find my dead body when they get back"

"They are going to be disappointed" Lucas smiled as he watched her nod slightly.

"There's a bug in my shoe, look" Ruth pulled her shoe off and activated the bug before stepping across to the bedside table and activating the small listening device. Lucas smiled as he watched her plant the bug in the lamp base. "I think I'd like to hear their reaction when they find out I am very much alive. How did Andrew know where I am anyway?"

"He didn't. He knew the room number, Ros said you had gone AWOL. And I know you" He smiled as Ruth rolled her eyes.

"I do not get into trouble everytime I leave the Grid"

"Yes" Lucas smiled "Yes you do. You are a magnet for it"

"I am not" Ruth tried to hide the smile that was threatening to creep across her face.

"Yes you are. You and Ros are not so different. You know that"

"Explain" Ruth gripped the corner of the bedside table as the world spun dangerously around her.

"Both women, both exellent at what you do, stubborn to a fault and both have a death wish. Despite the fact that you both have husbands that are head over heels in love with you" Lucas watched as Ruth frowned.

"I do not have a death wish"

"In that case you are doing a very good impression of someone who does" Lucas rested a finger to his lips as he heard footsteps and the unmistakable voices of the assasin and her bodyguard outside the room. Ruth nodded, she had heard them too. Before she could think about what she was doing she was leading Lucas to the balcony as the door opened.

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Ros walked alongside Adam as her phone began to vibrate in her pocket. She ignore is as she reached the lift. Everything about staying in the hotel made her feel uneasy. Adam glanced at her, she was visibly tense. Every muscle in her body seemed to be on edge ready to run or fight. He smiled slightly, he understood how much she hated being in the same building as Andrew Lawrence, that the pair clearly had history he didn't know about. What he didn't know was that her flashbacks were back and worse than ever. The case, the similarities to what had happened when Nightingale had blown up the hotel had dragged up memories she had wanted to forget, memories Adam couldn't even imagine. She kept her eyes on the long corridor as she walked towards the lift with Adam.

"Ros"

"Don't" Ros answered.

"Answer the phone"

"No" Ros knew it was Lucas. Two rings meant he was ok, three meant there was a problem. So far it had rung four times. That meant he was near by and they needed back up.

"Ok, what's the plan Boss?" Adam had never really kept it a secret that he wanted his old job back. Harry had never made it a secret that the job belonged to Ros for as long as she wanted it.

"I'm supposed to be a journalist" She smiled as she turned to Adam. "Think it's about time I interviewed someone from the Chinese delegation."

"Get the real scoop" Adam smiled.

"Oh yes" Ros stalked along the corridor, knowing that Lucas was in the suite that had been booked in the name of Maria Chen. It was time to stop what was happening in its tracks.

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Dimitri looked up at the posh London hotel as Beth spoke on the phone. Malcolm was clearly agitated and had passed the phone to Zoe.

"What?" Beth frowned as Dimitri turned to look at her. "I thought that was over long before me and Dimitri turned up?"

Tariq shot her a glare as she turned her back to him. He hated anyone using mobile phones while in the obbo van. He needed to be able to hear what was going on outside without any technical interference from phone signals. He turned back to his gadgets as Beth ignored him and continued to talk to Zoe.

"I know" She glanced at Dimitri who was as worried as ever. "Thanks Zoe, you'll get us all the information you can? I know none of us were around then but Harry would have been. Lucas and Ros too. Yeah"

Tariq turned as she hung up the phone. "Around for what?"

"Oh so you weren't listening?" She teased as Tariq raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Dimitri stared at her as she closed her eyes.

"I dunno, alot of what Zoe just said sounded like gibberish. Says only Harry, Ruth, Ros and Lucas were in the field then. That this was after Malcolm retired"

"Oh crap" Tariq closed his eyes. "I was here then"

"Again, what are you talking about?" Dimitri spoke as the door to the obbo van was wrenched open. The three junior officers spun to face the intruder.

"Nightingale" Harry sighed as they all looked at him. "Nightingale is back and it seems their favourite assasin is about to finish what we thought we had stopped almost three years ago. Now I suggest you get yourselves up to speed on Nightingale as quickly as possible. Tariq here can fill you in on the details." Harry stepped into the van.

"I thought they were defunct" Tariq watched as Harry nodded.

"Yes" Harry sounded defeated. "Yes after Mace died I really believed we had removed the British cell. It seems however that despite everything that has happened they have regrouped and are now attacking the financial world rather than the warmongering they tried last time"

"Oh God" Tariq watched as they all turned to face him.

"Before Mace, when I was still the new boy playing catch up they tried to kill Andrew Lawrence in a hotel"

"Yes, the irony hadn't escaped me either. The only difference now is the majority of my team is in that hotel. As is half of the top businessmen in the Western World" Harry spoke calmly.

"Yeah" Dimitri looked towards the hotel "If they aren't trying to start World War Three by causing war in Pakistan then what? They are going to cause financial armageddon? We just had a recession in Europe"

"Not a recession" Harry closed his eyes. He barely understood the machinations of Nightingale but he had a fair idea of what they had hired the Chinese assasin for. "Cause chaos, financial instability in the West, weaken the already fragile economy. Move in and create the environment they want to achieve"

"Kill as many delegates as possible" Beth looked out of the van window. "Blame it on terrorist groups who will be only too happy to accept the publicity and make us look like idiots"

"Yes" Harry sighed. His heart constricted slightly, knowing Ruth was still unaccounted for.

"And our lot are still in there" Dimitri looked at his boss. "So this is the part where you tell us what Plan B is?"

**A/N two chapters in one day! Well it was either split them like this or have a really long chapter. Does Harry have a plan B and will history repeat itself? Please review. More soon. **


	8. Chapter 8 History Repeating?

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. **

**History Repeating?**

Malcolm looked up and rolled his eyes as the Home Secretary walked onto the Grid. It was times like this he wished Harry never left the Grid. He had no idea what to say to the politican as the larger man walked towards him.

"Home Secretary" Zoe stared as Malcolm sighed.

"Miss Reynolds. Mr Wynn-Jones. Can you please enlighten me as to what is going on at the Trade Conference? I was told three of the best officers in Section D were in there looking after the situation" Towers watched as Zoe drew herself up to her full height. It was very rare for Zoe to loose her temper. Malcolm had noticed how much calmer she was since her return from Chile. It seemed motherhood suited her he mused as she glared directly at the Home Secretary.

"Yes that's right" Zoe answered as Malcolm looked up.

"So? What is happening?"

"We had further intelligence through. Intel which if we had got earlier we could have ensured we acted faster to deal with the situation" Zoe held the older man's gaze. "Malcolm and I are here working to ensure the facts are fed through to our officers in the field as quickly and as safely as possible. Now the situation is not the best it could be but the best officers are working on it Sir, and you know that" Zoe folded her arms as the cut glass English accent cut through the air.

"Thank you Miss Reynolds. Where is Harry?"

"With his officers Sir" Malcolm watched as William Towers nodded.

"I see"

Malcolm and Zoe exchanged glances. They both knew William Towers didn't really see what was happening. He was just seeing the political fallout. Just as Andrew Lawrence would have done, just as Nick Blake would have focused on. He didn't see the actual fallout of the operation and the effect it would have on the lives of those that came back to Thames House.

"You know, it wasn't very long ago that this team was nearly disbanded? All that fuss over the Albany file. Your Mr North and Syria" Towers shook his head.

"Yes Sir" Malcolm had no idea where the Home Secretary was going with his explanation. Zoe shot him a look.

"But" Towers stood up and ran a hand over his face "But Harry trusts his team. I know that. There is not another Section like Section D and not just for the way it works together but how it works together. You are closer than any of the other sections in MI 5. That's what makes D work so well. I trust you will all work together to end this crisis"

"We will" Malcolm was still suspicious of the politican.

"Home Secretary" Zoe stepped towards him "I think you know more about the situation at hand rather than we do. You have dealt with Nightingale before"

"No" He shook his head "Nightingale was before my time in office. I know what the after effects of the Nightingale were. How Andrew Lawrence spent some time in hospital"

"Ros Myers too. She nearly died trying to save his life" Malcolm was insistant that his friend's ordeal wasn't forgotten. He remembered waiting in the hospital waiting room with Lucas as the younger man became even more introverted. He remembered how Ros had screamed out in her sleep for weeks afterwards.

"Yes indeed" Towers watched as Malcolm glared at a spot on Ros' desk.

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Ros felt sick. She had to find Lucas and get out of the hotel. She glanced down as Adam pressed the lift call button and swore in frustration. Her sleeve had ridden up to show the scar on her wrist. Adam frowned as he saw it and held her gaze.

"What?"

"Your arm? Is that why you only ever wear long sleeves now?" Adam watched as she nodded.

"Doesn't help to stand out in our line of work" Ros tried to calm her breathing.

"How?"

"The last time I was stuck in a hotel with a load of politicans and terrorists. You know the story Adam. When Tariq and Lucas went looking for you I was in Intensive Care" She stepped into the lift ahead of Adam, determined that he would not see how the explosion still affected her. Only Lucas knew about the flashbacks, about the nightmares that still occasionally plagued her and she was determined Adam would not be there to witness another panic attack. She pulled her sleeve back into place as Adam turned away.

"Right" He knew she was uncomfortable talking about anything related to Nightingale but it really did seem like they were back. "So, Nightingale"

"It can't be them Adam"

"Why can't it be?" Adam had always worried that after Mace someone would come after them, try to restart the British part of the organisation.

"No" Ros spoke more forcibly as the lift began to go down. "No it is not Nightingale. I just don't see how it can be. Mace is dead, Blake is dead. Hans Linnerman, my father they are all dead. I just don't see who else would have the stupidity and the finanical means to get involved"

"Politicans, hotels and world domination. Sounds like them" Adam stepped out of the lift as Ros nodded.

"Just because something sounds like something doesn't mean that it is"

"True." Adam smirked "People have taken you for a helpless blonde before now"

Ros smirked as she stepped past him. Adam could do nothing but follow her along the corridor towards the Conference Room.

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Ruth held her breath as the door to the hotel suite opened. Lucas held her to him as they heard voices in the room they had just left. Both knew that if either of the room's current occupants got any nearer their cover was blown. Ruth felt sick, the dizzyness was beginning to overwhelm her and she knew if Lucas hadn't been holding on to her she would have fallen to the floor.

"Where is she?" Maria Chen could be heard talking clearly in perfect English.

"Gone" Lee Wong answered. "Should have shot her when I wanted to. You are going too soft"

"Shut up" Maria spat as neither realised Tariq could hear every word they spoke. Lucas closed his eyes and prayed that Maria Chen and Lee Wong would disappear from the room so that they could get back to the others. Ruth bit her lip as another wave of nausea washed over her. She knew she was fine, it was just the slap across the face had caused her to be a little concussed. It was nothing, she had been through worse.

"Ruth" Lucas hissed in her ear as she opened her eyes. "They've gone. Can you do this?"

"Of course I can" Ruth shot him a look as she stepped back from him. She instantly regretted moving so quickly as the world begun to spin around her once more. Lucas caught her elbow as she took a deep breath.

"You're sure" Lucas stated as Ruth nodded. "Ok, here we go" He ushered her through the sliding doors and back into the hotel suite as he heard the familiar click of a gun to the back of his head. Ruth froze instantly as Lee Wong pressed the gun into Lucas' temple.

"Please don't do this" Ruth turned to stare at the woman she believed to be Maria Chen. "Please don't shoot him" All Ruth could do was hope the bug she had planted working.

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Tariq pressed a button on the palmtop computer in front of him. Suddenly Ruth's voice filled the small obbo van. Harry felt as though his heart was about to stop.

"Please don't do this" He heard her words. To the rest of the team she sounded perfectly calm. Harry was the only one who heard the slight inflection in her tone. He knew she was terrified.

Dimitri closed his eyes. He could picture what had happened, he knew Beth could too.

"Look" Dimitri started as Harry sat staring at the small computer. "What do you want us to do?"

Harry paused. All his instincts as a husband screamed for him to run from the van and find Ruth. All his instincts as a Section Head told him to stay where he was.

"Contact Adam"

"Ok" Beth picked up her phone as she slipped out of the van. There was no way she was going to let her phone signal interfere with the signal from the bug Ruth had planted. She was talking to Adam and Ros when she saw Zaf walk along the pavement towards them.

"Zaf?" She hung up the phone as he shook his head and stepped inside the van. She turned and followed him.

"Hi" He sat next to Dimitri as he looked at the others.

"Zafar" Harry deliberately kept his voice calm.

"Harry, I think it is time we got CO19 down here. Red Troop, anyone" He tried to steady his voice. "You know Lucas and Ruth are in trouble yeah?"

"Yeah" Dimitri answered as Harry gave a curt nod.

"Well things just got worse than that" Zaf took a deep breath as he tried to find the words to say what he had to.

"Zaf" Beth rested a hand on his forearm. He smiled slightly, knowing Ruth would have done the same. But Ruth wasn't there. Yet again his best friend was in trouble and he could do very little to help. He closed his eyes and avoided Harry's gaze.

"As I say, things have just got a whole lot worse. Tar, can you get CCTV on that thing?" He pointed to the palm top in Tariq's hand. Tariq raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, course I can" He tapped a few keys as all eyes fell on the small screen.

"Go back a few minutes. Camera in the hall on the third floor." Zaf instructed as Tariq pressed a few more keys.

"Oh my God" Harry muttered as he saw the image of Andrew Lawrence holding hands with the woman they thought was Maria Chen.

"That's what I thought" Zaf sighed. "Add that to the fact Ruth thought she saw a ghost earlier and we have real problems"

"Ruth saw him?" Harry turned to the younger man.

"She saw something in the conference room earlier. I haven't spoken to her but I know Ruth and I know when she's scared" Zaf watched as Harry nodded. Dimitri was beginning to get annoyed at being kept out of the loop. He glanced at Beth who merely raised her eyebrows.

"Who did she see? What is really going on here?" He asked as Tariq shrugged his shoulders.

"Well it seems Andrew is cheating on Christine Dale. It also seems he is complicit in the attempt to derail the conference and it seems we have a dead man running around the hotel" Harry stood and opened the van door. "And I think it is time we put a stop to it"

**A/N ok not the best chapter I know but more fluff next time. Well Ros and Lucas and Harry and Ruth have to meet up again don't they? Also we may finally find out who Ruth has seen and why she is feeling so sick all the time. Please review. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Alarms.**

Lucas glared at the large set man that was holding the gun at his head. He had to think of a way of getting the gun from him. He was vaguely aware of Ruth speaking to the couple but wasn't really listening. His priority was to get them both out of the situation alive.

"I should have shot you earlier." Lee Wong glanced at Ruth.

"But you didn't." Lucas spoke as he tried to work out what was going on. "You were following orders. She told you not to kill Cath, so that must be for a reason."

"Yes" Maria smiled. She ran her eyes over Lucas as he raised an eyebrow. "Yes I told him not to shoot your friend. I believed nature would take it's course. But I see it didn't." Ruth took a deep breath. She had never really wanted to hit anyone before, not the way she wanted to hit this woman now. For a brief moment she wondered who would win in a fight, she knew she was taller and slightly larger than the other woman but she knew Maria was a violent woman. There was little doubt she had been trained to fight.

"Just let us go." Ruth knew there was little chance of that happening.

"I don't think so somehow, Cathy. If that is even your real name." Maria stepped towards her.

"Oh and I think you know all about real names, don't you Mai?" Lucas knew he had the upper hand as Ruth and Maria both turned to him. "She is not Maria Chen. That woman died, what? Three days ago. Body found in the boot of her car in Hong Kong." Ruth closed her eyes for a moment as she realised more intel had to have been sent before Chen and Wong had got her in the hotel room.

"What?" Mai walked towards him.

"Maria Chen is dead. You killed her. Now what I don't understand is why? Or why you have abducted my friend here."

"So what? You are the rescue party?" Wong laughed.

"Yeah" Lucas stepped towards him as Ruth rested a hand on his back. She was not about to let him get killed for her. She knew he still felt guilty about what had happened with Albany months earlier but as far as she was concerned he had no need to be. Wong stepped up to him as a sharp knock at the door shocked the occupants of the room into silence.

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Ros reached the room of the Italian security detail as Adam raised an eyebrow. She smiled slightly and knocked on the door.

"Ah" The security officer opened the door. "The beautiful Senorina Ros"

"I'm here for work Luigi" Ros smiled as she walked in to the room. Adam smirked and followed her inside.

"Si" Luigi nodded.

"You know as well as I do something is going down here. I know it has nothing to do with your trade delegate but I know you Luigi, there isn't much you miss" Ros folded her arms.

"I miss nothing. You only wish I was English so I could be on your team" He smiled as Adam rolled his eyes. He had no idea how Ros did it but she seemed to have moles and assets in most of the security sevices in the Western world. She stepped toward the Italian man as he ran his eyes over her. He knew the Italian was risking getting the sharp end of Ros' temper.

"Luigi, you know I am here undercover. You call me Ros again and I will silence you, permanently. Are we clear?" She spoke clearly. He nodded as he met her ice blue eyes. "The name is Rachel North. Now, what is going on between Andrew Lawrence and the Chinese delegate? What do you know?"

"They are very close." Luigi watched as Ros' eyes never left his. "They are, as you say? Having a fling? I think she is using him."

"For what?"

"Improve Chinese influence? I know not how the minds of beautiful women work. You know more about that than I" He shrugged as Ros smiled slightly.

"If I find out you lied to me" Ros warned as she rested a hand on Luigi's shoulder. He nodded.

"I know, you will have my guts for suspenders" He sighed.

"Guts for garters, Luigi" Adam corrected. "The saying is guts for garters." He turned and followed Ros out of the room.

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Harry sat in the van as Zaf continued to explain what little they had learnt from the intel they had managed to get in the conference. He listened intently as he explained how he had looked for Ruth but hadn't been able to find her. He explained how no one had heard anything from Lucas since Adam had arrived at the hotel. Dimitri shook his head as Harry pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Tell me there is a plan B" Beth turned to the men around her.

"Tariq" Harry started. "You remember the first time we ran into Nightingale?"

"Yeah" Tariq nodded. "Yeah, I remember the comms system went down. We couldn't reach Ros or Lucas"

"That cannot happen now" Harry watched as Tariq nodded.

"What do we know?" Harry thought aloud. "Andrew Lawrence was the target as far as we are aware, but he seems to be on rather friendly terms with Mai. Ruth and Lucas are in trouble and there is still a threat to the conference. The conference has to go ahead."

"So?" Beth asked.

"So you and Dimitri go in there and find the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. She is probably in the bar with the Foreign Secretary. Get them out. Tariq ensure the comms are still working. I need to know what is going on in that room. Zaf get CO 19 down here now." He stepped out the van and pulled out his mobile. "Home Secretary, It's Harry Pearce."

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Ruth closed her eyes as Lee Wong walked towards towards her. She knew her cover had been blown, that much was obvious but she had to hope that somewhere along the line she could persuade them Lucas was not British Intelligence. She didn't know how but she was determined Lucas was getting back to Ros and the children. _Amy and James are not loosing their Dad. I went through that as a child, but at least I was old enough to remember him. Not like James and Amy. They are just babies._ She fought the urge to gag as Wong touched her arm.

"Get your hands off her" Lucas kept his voice deliberately calm.

"Why?" Wong answered.

"I am still here, you know" Ruth snapped as Lucas smirked.

"Yes, and I am wondering why" Mai stared at her. "When you are supposed to be dead"

"I suppose my blood sugar didn't dip quite so low" Ruth answered. "Sorry to disappoint you"

"No matter, little miss spy, I have a use for you after all" Mai smiled sweetly. "You and your friend here are a valuable commodity."

"Excuse me?" Lucas stepped towards Mai as Ruth's eyes widened. She knew all about spies being used as commodities between terrorist organisations. She knew what had happened to Zaf at the hands of the redbacks. She knew how Mani had come to be the one holding Harry hostage the day she had got back to London. Her blood ran cold as she realised what the woman in front of her was suggesting.

"Trade" Ruth narrowed her eyes. "They think I'm a spy."

"Really?" Lucas tried to keep up the pretense as Ruth nodded. "You?"

"Yeah."

"We don't think, we know" Wong grabbed Ruth's arm as Lucas yelled. Before he could react Mai had hit him across the head with her gun, knocking him to his knees. The world spun dangerously around him as he saw Ruth hit the bed, fighting and screaming as Wong tied her hands behind her back. Lucas tried to get to his feet as Mai pointed a gun at Ruth.

"You move macho man and I'll kill her."

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Malcolm leant across the computer table and breathed heavily. He knew Harry had spoken to the Home Secretary and was currently waiting for CO19 to arrive at the hotel. Zoe was frantically trying to get hold of Beth or Tariq and failing miserably as he tried to control his breathing. He knew how worried Harry would be, he knew that Ros would be barely able to control her anger if they had heard what had just come through the comms to Thames House.

"I can't get hold of anyone" Zoe turned to him. The worry in her eyes evident as Malcolm merely nodded. He knew she was worried about Zaf.

"Try again" Malcolm didn't know what else to say.

"Malcolm"

"Just try again Zoe. Please!" Malcolm snapped. Zoe raised her eyebrows, she wasn't used to him raising his voice.

"Ok" She turned back to the phone, deciding to try Tariq one more time.

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"Harry" Ros spoke into the phone. "I need a room number for Maria Chen. It's going to take too long to search the entire place"

"Ros, are you ok?" Harry walked from the obbo van towards the hotel.

"Of course I am" Ros answered. "I'm on the fifth floor with Adam, the Italian delegation are about as much use as a chocolate tea pot but the last we heard of Lucas he was talking to Andrew Lawrence. Now our former Home Secretary seems to have gone AWOL"

"He may not be all he seems Ros" Harry spoke calmly.

"No? He's a politician Harry, I've yet to meet one that is all he seems" Ros watched as Adam rolled his eyes.

"He seems to be rather too friendly with our Chinese assasin."

"What?" Ros stopped in her tracks. "He is not part of Nightingale. Harry I am not having this argument again. I did not spend four hours trapped under burning bricks for him to turn out to be a bloody traitor!"

"He wasn't then" Harry tried to keep his voice calm. He knew how difficult the time after the explosion had been for Ros. "He may be now. Look we have been fed lies and misdirection since the Redflash came through. Lucas and Ruth are in trouble. All we can tell is they are together and with Wong and Mai."

"Trouble?" Ros spoke sharply. She was back in full Ice Queen mode.

"As in from the bug it seems they are to be used as a bargaining tool" Harry hated the way the phrase came so easily to him. "It seems they want to trade two high ranking British Intel officers with someone."

"Who?"

"That is yet to be determined" Harry could picture the way Ros was holding herself. Adam paused as he saw her visibly pale.

"What floor are they on?" She asked calmly.

"We think they are on the West side of the building. Third floor. We don't have a room number."

"Thanks"

"Ros. No heroics" He knew there was a fair chance she would ignore him.

"Harry"

"No Ros, everyone gets out of this alive. Ruth and Lucas know how to handle themselves." Harry tried to feel as confident as he sounded. He knew Lucas was able to talk his way out of most situations, failing that he could fight but Ruth hadn't been herself and if she had seen the one man that they believed to be dead years earlier he had no way of knowing how she was reacting to being held hostage.

"Third floor" Ros began walking towards the lift as Adam marched along side her.

"No, meet me and Zaf in the lobby. Beth and Dimitri are going around the back. Lobby, two minutes" Harry barked as he heard Ros start to protest. "That is a direct order" He snapped the phone shut before closing his eyes. He hated pulling rank but sometimes he knew he had to.

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Beth glared at the window of the high class London hotel as Dimitri opened the door.

"Beth?" He smiled that infuriating smile that was guarenteed to wind her up.

"Why would they want to sell Ruth and Lucas?"

"No idea. Money?"

"Why not just kill them? I mean from the comms we know they guessed who Ruth was. Or what she was at least." Beth walked into the porch at the rear of the hotel.

"Don't talk about her in past tense Beth. It's bad luck" He frowned as Beth rolled her eyes.

"Never took you for being superstitious" She smiled as he touched his arm. He smiled slightly.

"I'm not, but we are all going back to Thames House" He was determined. "Look, I let one colleague down and now he's in a wheelchair. Not about to repeat past mistakes, so come on" He led her through the hotel kitchens and back corridors until he realised she was no longer with him. "Beth? Beth?" He turned to see her staring at a small box underneath an ornate table.

"Dimitri"

"Yeah" He walked towards her.

"I think you may have been a little optimistic" She knelt down and stared at the box.

"Oh no, oh God, please no" Dimitri knelt beside her as she nodded.

"I think we have a serious problem"

**A/N I know I promised more fluff this time but there will be a very fluffy reunion. Especially for Lady J and Littlemissruth! More soon. Please let me know what you think. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Thankyou to everyone who read and reviewed. Sorry for delay in updating but I have to go to work at some point! Oh this chapter is the fluffy one I promised Lady J, Littlemissruth and Fragglebo :D Mega long chapter sorry!**

**Words**

Lucas narrowed his eyes as Wong walked towards the door. He knew Ruth was watching their captors intensely. He could practically hear her brain working out what was going on. He glanced towards her as Wong stepped out of the room for a moment. Mai remained sat on the bed as she ignored her hostages.

"You ok?" Lucas whispered as Ruth nodded.

"You?"

"No" Lucas whispered. "These jokers are really starting to annoy me. It's time we went home."

Ruth smiled slightly. It was good to see the old Lucas back. He had been a little too careful around her since the whole Albany saga. She didn't like it, she really didn't care if he had been forced to change his name. All she cared about was her friend and right now how they were going to get out of the situation they found themselves in. She heard Wong talk to a man with an English accent as she strained to listen to what was being said.

"Shit" She mumbled as Lucas widened his eyes in surprise. He had never heard her swear.

"What?"

"They are speaking Wu. I have no idea what is being said" She cursed. She closed her eyes as she realised she did recognise the accent of the man Wong was talking to. Lucas stared at her as tears filled her eyes. He was immediately worried. It was very rare for Ruth to get so scared and show it openly. She refused to meet his gaze but Lucas couldn't help but notice she was shaking slightly.

"What is it?" He whispered as she shook her head. She couldn't bring herself to say his name. She had barely mentioned the man in the last twenty years, even when he was supposedly dead she couldn't bring herself to talk about him. Only Harry and Ros knew what had happened. That was enough, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath as Mai looked towards her and frowned. _I'm not 16 anymore, I am not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me upset. I am getting Lucas back to Ros and the children. I WILL see Harry and the kids again. I WILL not let him win this time. _She sat a little straighter and narrowed her eyes without saying a word to Lucas. There was no way she could explain that the dead man who had destroyed her life once was outside talking to the man who wanted to kill them both. She just didn't have the words.

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Harry walked towards the lobby. He knew Beth and Dimitri were around the back of the hotel and that Adam and Ros were supposed to be on the way to meet him. Tariq had been ordered to move the obbo van as far away from the hotel as possible and get CO19 on standby. Harry had a very bad feeling about what was happening. He stood in the lobby knowing Ruth was somewhere in the hotel. He took a deep breath as the various delegates from Spain, Germany and Canada walked around him. He nodded as the Spanish trade minister smiled at him. Smirking slightly he knew that years ago he would have been flattered by the attentions of the pretty brunette but these days he only had eyes for one woman and right at that moment he had no idea where the particular brunette he had in mind was. He pulled his Iphone out of his pocket as he looked around the hotel.

"Adam? Where the Hell are you?"

Adam closed his eyes as he listened to his boss berate him. Ros raised an eyebrow as she broke the lock on the door in front of her.

"Harry, we've been a little delayed" Adam tried to sound calm as Ros smirked.

"What did I tell you about no heroics?" Harry barked as he walked past the reception area, giving the young man that worked on the desk a filthy look. She seemed to know better than to challenge him.

"No heroics" Adam repeated as he followed Ros into the hotel room.

He had no idea what Ros had seen but knew better than to argue with her. It seemed she had picked the fourth floor room for a reason.

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Dimitri glanced up at Beth as he tried to think what the best ocurse of action could be. She knelt beside him.

"Talk to Malcolm" She narrowed her eyes at the shoe box sized device.

"Yeah." Dimitri nodded.

"I'll cause a fuss, get the place emptied as quick as possible" She smirked as Dimitri smiled slightly. The tension rolled off him in waves.

"The fire alarm?"

"You know me Dim. Crude but effective" She winked as she walked across to the little red box on the wall. She turned back to Dimitri who was talking to Malcolm on the phone as she broke the glass. The shrill alarm sounded as she heard the footsteps of the other occupants of the hotel all rush towards the various exits. Dimitri winced as the shrill alarm made it difficult to hear what Malcolm was saying.

"Get out" he stood and turned to Beth as she raised an eyebrow. "Harry told us get the Secretary of State for Trade out and the Foreign Secretary. Think you've just achieved that. So get out."

"And what are you going to be doing?" Beth felt sick at the thought of leaving Dimitri in a building about to blow up. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Following you" He smiled slightly. "Malcolm says this is remote control. We can't diffuse it here"

"Shit"

"Exactly. Come on" He took her hand and almost dragged her out of the hotel. Beth glanced back at the bomb hoping that they had time to get out.

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Ruth glanced at Lucas as they both sat silently on the floor. She knew what was going to happen. They were going to be traded, just as Zaf had been. She briefly wondered where Zaf was and hoped whatever happened the rest of the team had got to safety.

"You are getting out of this" She whispered to Lucas. He shook his head.

"No"

"What?"

"We are both getting out of this." He watched as she physically jumped at the sound of the fire alarm sounding through the building. Mai and Wong seemed surprised as Wong stormed towards Ruth and grabbed her blouse.

"You, up"

"What?" Ruth pulled back from him as she tried to fight the anger coursing through her. "You know what that alarm means? The hotel is on fire!"

"False alarm" Wong laughed. Lucas shouted something incoherant as the fire alarms got louder and louder. Ruth continued to try to struggle in the larger man's grasp as the Englishman they had been talking to outside the room entered. Lucas swore as he realised Ruth had fallen silent in Wong's arms. He recogised the man that had walked in but had believed he had died years earlier.

"You" Ruth shook her head. "You are the buyer I take it"

Lucas glanced from his friend to the man in front of them. He was beginning to realise the threat from the fire alarm was probably less than authentic. He hoped the people in the room with him didn't realise the same thing. The man walked to Ruth as Mai shook her head and laughed.

"You believe in ghosts?" She laughed.

"No" Ruth shook her head. "No I stopped believing in ghosts a long time ago."

"Hello Ruth" He reached out to touch her cheek as Lucas stepped forward. He could see Ruth was scared of the man in front of her. He had no idea why. Right at that moment he hoped their comms were working.

"Touch me and I will kill you" Ruth narrowed her eyes.

"You were such a sweet child" He answered.

"Robert Wells" Lucas spoke calmly. His voice was dangerously low. "You touch her and if she doesn't kill you I will ensure that this time your death is a little more permanent" Robert stepped back and shook his head.

"Mai, are you ready?" He turned away from Ruth as her eyes widened.

"She may not be, but I am" Adam smiled as he pointed his gun straight at Robert. Lucas shook his head before guiding Ruth away from the thick set former military policeman.

"You took your time" Ruth smiled slightly as Adam raised an eyebrow.

"That's all the thanks we get" Ros smirked as she held her gun on Wong. Ruth couldn't drag her eyes away from Robert. She felt sick, she had to get away from him. All her instincts told her to run, there was no way she could stay in the same room as the man she had had nightmares about for the last twenty years.

"Thanks" Lucas glanced at his wife as Adam disarmed the larger Chinese man. The fire alarms continued to sound as Ros answered her mobile phone. She closed her eyes and swore as she heard Zaf warn her about the bomb.

"Adam, get Mai out of here." He nodded and dragged the small woman. Mai laughed as she let Adam lead her out of the hotel room. Ros kept her gun trained on Robert as she untied Lucas' hands.

"What's so funny?" Lucas felt the familiar stab of fear in his stomach. Something was wrong. He knew something wasn't right. He knew Ros and Adam had probably crept down the fire escape or jumped from the balcony above as the fire alarm sounded but something in the way Ros narrowed her eyes, the inflection of her voice. He knew something was wrong.

"You think you have won. The bird will always fly" Wong laughed.

"Zaf says there is a bomb"

"Shit" Ruth's eyes widened as Lucas swore.

"Nightingales always find their way home" Wong laughed as Robert continued to stare at Ruth. It was then Lucas realised he had a gun.

"NO!" He grabbed Ruth, pushing her to the floor as Robert fired a single shot through Wong's chest before turning the gun to his own head. The room fell still as Ruth landed with a thud beneath Lucas. She shook violently as Ros turned her gun on the dead man at her feet.

"He's dead Ruth. This time he is really dead" Ros spoke as she helped them both to their feet. "We go now!" She bundled Lucas and Ruth out of the hotel room door. Ruth couldn't help but fight the urge to hang back, to return to the hotel room just to check the men really were dead. Instead she let her friends lead the way to the staircase. Lucas kept a hand on the small of her back, pushing her along as Ros marched ahead.

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Beth ran to the obbo van as if she was in the Olympics as Dimitri followed behind her. She had to get to Tariq, someone had planted a bomb that could be detonated at any second. She knew Tariq had followed orders and got the van out of the potential blast zone. Tapping her ear she spoke to Harry.

"Any sign?"

"No, Zaf is headed towards you now. Good job on the evacuation"

"Lucas? The others?"

"No Beth"

"You have to get out of there!" Beth stopped at the side of the van, breathing heavily as she saw Zaf talking to the head of CO19. It seemed the armed officer shared her opinion. Everyone had to get out and away from the hotel. To stay where they were was tantamount to suicide. Zaf seemed to be arguing the opposite.

"Beth, Dimitri. You stay with Tariq. Tariq, keep this channel open. Get hold of Malcolm, make sure he still has a feed to the CCTV cameras and for God's sake keep the media away!" Harry barked. He could imagine the headlines in the rags the next day. He closed his eyes and prayed that he'd see his friends arrive in the lobby when he opened them.

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Tariq felt the van rock under the force of the explosion. He heard Zoe scream in his earpiece as he hit the floor. The searing heat as the van was almost lifted from it's wheels shook the gadgets and survellance equipment from it's positions in the van. The eerie calm that enveloped the van made him feel sick as he heard Dimitri swear.

"Tariq?" Beth gingerly stood up as she held a hand out to help him to his feet.

"You ok?"

"No" Beth shook her head. "Someone just activated that bomb"

"Yeah" Dimitri touched his forehead gingerly. "I spotted that."

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Harry hit the pavement outside the hotel lobby in a hail of glass and debris. Smoke and debris engulfed him as he was vaguely aware of hearing a woman scream. Then there was silence. For minutes there was only the sound of car alarms protesting and the strong stench of smoke in the air. He forced himself to get to his feet as he realised Zaf was running towards him, closely followed by Dimitri.

"You ok?" Dimitri asked.

"Get away from the bombsite, or you will both be decommissioned" Harry glared as he saw how battered and bruised both young men looked.

"Yes boss" Zaf answered before completely ignoring him and stepping further into the hotel.

"Everyone was out Harry. All the delegates, public, staff they are all safe." Harry smiled slightly. His team had done it's job.

"Our people?" Harry watched as Zaf glanced at Dimitri.

"Beth and Tariq are safe. Obbo van has seen better days" Zaf smiled slightly.

"Dimitri?" Harry knew the younger man knew what he was asking.

"You frightened the life out of us." Dimitri sighed. "Adam got out. He's fine. Made an arrest too. Mai will be in a fit state to answer questions in the morning. You were out of it for a few minutes."

"I was blown through a plate glass window on to concrete. At my age that is not exactly good for you" Harry narrowed his eyes. No one had mentioned Ruth, Lucas or Ros. _History had repeated itself. They were dead. Ruth was dead. Amy and James were orphaned. _Harry felt sick as he closed his eyes. _They had done the job, they had arrested the assasin, got the trade conference finished with the much needed treaty signed but they were dead. Ruth was gone. My Ruth._ He suddenly felt weak. It was only when he heard her voice that he opened his eyes.

"Harry"

"Look, I need to call Zoe" Zaf smiled as he walked back to where Beth was arguing with a very disgruntled member of CO19. He smiled slightly as he saw Tariq shake his head and walk away, leaving the blonde to argue with the man. Even though Beth was smaller and physically much less intimidating he couldn't help but feel sorry for the policeman.

"Harry"

It was then he shook his head and turned to face her. Ruth smiled slightly, her face and hair covered in dust, a small wound on her forehead meant blood had run along her face. She looked like hell, to Harry she had never looked better.

"Oh my God" He stared at her as she held his gaze. "Oh Ruth".

In seconds she was in his arms as he clung to her. He clung to her as if his life depended on it as she cried. She pulled back slightly as she touched his face, aware that he had a nasty cut above his left eye.

"They couldn't find you" She stared at the wound as she brought herself under control.

"Ruth"

"Ros and Lucas went to the hospital, Lucas took the brunt of it." Ruth watched as Harry frowned.

"How long ago?"

"A few minutes. He pushed Ros out of the way, his elbow. Well it didn't really look elbow shaped. Am I shouting? I can't really hear you" Ruth explained as the tears ran freely down her face. He shook his head.

"Wong?"

"Dead" She hugged him again as she began to shake in his arms. It was then he realised Beth had arrived.

"Harry?" She bit her lip and looked towards the hole in the hotel where the third floor should have been. "Sorry but, " She sighed as Ruth pulled away from her husband.

"Yes Beth"

"If everyone got out. Where is Andrew Lawrence?"

**A/N I have no idea if this chapter is any good. Please let me know what you think. Thanks for the reviews! Oh and Littlemissruth, you were right! But why was he there? Where's Andrew? More soon!**


	11. Calm before the storm?

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Calm Before the Storm?**

Ros stared at the vending machine in the A&E waiting room without really seeing the various bottles of pop it advertised. Instead her thoughts were on the condition of the man that had been wheeled into the Resus room thirty minutes earlier. No one had come to tell her what was happening. She fought to control her breathing as she remembered the stench of smoke, the way Ruth had screamed. She remembered the way Lucas had pushed her down on the floor of the staircase as the whole building shook. Ros closed her eyes as she tried to control her breathing. She felt sick. It was the second time she had been trapped in a burning building due to Nightingale. She wasn't happy. Ruth had been the one that realised they could get out, Ros knew if it wasn't for the analyst there was a fair chance all three of them would be trapped in It wasn't until she felt a hand on her shoulder that she realised she wasn't alone any more.

"Ros."

"Hi Malcolm." Ros turned back to the vending machine in front of her.

"Any news?"

"Could ask you the same thing." Ros was in full Ice Queen mode. Malcolm knew better than to argue with her. Harry had already threatened Dimitri and Zaf with decommissioning once and it was still only late evening.

"Adam arrested Mai. She's in the cells below Thames House. Wong and Wells are dead. Ruth and Harry are both on the way here. No one else has been injured but I think the Obbo van needs to be in the garage for a few days. Tariq is not going to be happy when he sees his toys. There was one very nice piece of equipment, about the size of a 5p coin.." Malcolm smiled slightly.

"Harry and Ruth?"

"Cuts and bruises." Malcolm watched as she closed her eyes.

"How's Lucas?" Ros shook her head as she heard the nurse walk towards her.

"Mrs North?"

"Yes" Ros snapped as the nurse ushered them both into the Relatives Room.

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Adam was relieved to have made the arrest. He was relieved the team had made it out of the hotel alive, although the reappearance of Robert Wells after so long was a little disconcerting. He had no idea what Ruth would be thinking about that, especially after the Samantha Caulfield fiasco and the lies she had told Angela Wells all those years ago. He was exhausted and glad to be going home for the night. Zaf had dropped him off, knowing Zoe had collected Emma a little while earlier. Adam waved once as his friend drove away.

"Hi" He walked into the kitchen to see Carrie stood at the sink. Things had been difficult between them for a while. He was still not really sure what he had done to upset her.

"Hello" Carrie threw the tea towel at the draining board as she turned to him. "Oh my God" She walked across the kitchen to him as he hung his head. He was utterly exhausted and scarily aware of how close the whole team had come to dying during the course of the day. He couldn't think of anything to say as she reached him and pulled him into her arms.

"Come here" She hugged him to her as he found his arms wrapped around her waist of their own accord.

"Sorry" He whispered in her ear. She hugged him tighter.

"Wes is in bed. Exhausted after Rugby. Amy and James are asleep too." She glanced at the clock as Adam pulled back.

"Lucas was hurt. Ros is at the hospital with him."

"Oh God" Carrie suddenly understood why Adam was so upset. "The gas leak in Central London. Wasn't a gas leak was it?" She knew Adam couldn't answer her but the look on his face was enough for her to know she was right.

"Caz" He mumbled into her hair as she tightened her hold on him. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Why?" Carrie pulled back.

Adam stared at her. "I dunno what I've done. I know I should know what I've done but I've definately managed to upset you at some point."

"You haven't done anything Adam." Carrie stepped back. "It's me."

"Now you are worrying me." He smiled slightly as he began to panic. Carrie was younger than him, he had always expected her to find someone her own age. He cursed himself for sounding like Harry.

"Sorry." Carrie stared at the floor as tears pricked her eyes.

"Hey." Adam pulled her into his arms. "Ok, what happened?"

"We did."

"Carrie?"

"I'm pregnant." Carrie froze as Adam stared at her. He could see she was about to cry as he stared at her. The words just hadn't sunk in as he stared at her.

"I'm going to be a Dad."

"You are already a dad you idiot." Carrie sniffed as he stepped forward and hugged her.

"Yeah" He kissed her as Wes appeared in the doorway.

"You too made up then?" Wes yawned as Adam and Carrie sprang back from each other before dissolving in fits of giggles.

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Beth stared at the ceiling as she thought about the last twenty four hours. She had no idea what Nightingale really was. The way the others talked about it made it seem like a pretty big deal. A search of the Thames House data bases for any information on Oliver Mace had made her think she was right to be worried. She was dragged from her thoughts as Dimitri walked in from the kitchen carrying mugs of coffee.

"You ok?"

"Yeah. Tariq was quiet when we dropped him home. Hope he cheers up by Saturday or Malcolm's Stag Night is not going to be much fun for you all." She sighed as she took the mug from him. Dimitri shrugged.

"He's in mourning for the Obbo van. He'll be ok." Dimitri rested an arm behind Beth as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah. He's one to watch though, he's just a kid."

"I know" Dimitri took her mug from her and rested it on the coffee table. "I'd much rather be watching you though."

Beth rolled her eyes as Dimitri smirked slightly.

"Oh and why is that Mr Levandis?" She smiled cheekily as Dimitri leant in and kissed her gently on the lips. "Dim?"

"Yeah." Dimitri pulled back as she smiled slightly. "You mind if I stay over?"

Dimitri smiled as he nodded slightly. He couldn't really believe he was kissing Beth on the sofa in his living room. He felt like a teenager again. They'd been together a few weeks and all he knew was he didn't want to go back to the way things were. Beth pulled back and took his hand.

"Come on then Sailor Boy." Beth smiled as he followed her to his bedroom.

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Harry did not like hospitals. He had never liked them but these days it usually meant he was visiting someone he cared about. Most recently Ruth but he had spent far too much time in them for one reason or another, either visiting Graham in ITU, or Ros. Or Ruth. He closed his eyes as the nurse began stitching the wound above his eyebrow and thought about Ruth. He knew she was somewhere in the A&E department waiting for someone to check her over. He had a feeling she was appearing to cope with the reappearance of her step brother rather better than she really was. He knew her too well. It was all too soon after the death of her mother and the trip to Exeter. He winced as the nurse finished sewing the wound closed.

"Ok Mr Pearce. I see you are covered for tetanus." She smiled brightly.

"Yes, thank you" Harry paused. He felt like he had been thrown through a plate glass window. "My wife and friends are here, Ruth Pearce, Lucas North and Ros Myers."

"I can't comment on other patients but if you want to see your wife follow me." The young nurse walked towards another treatment cubicle as Ruth's voice could be heard telling the nurse she was really fine.

"Let them be the judge of that." Harry smiled as Ruth rolled her eyes.

"Harry"

"Hello mule. Let the man do his job." Harry nodded towards the nurse as Ruth frowned.

"Fine, fine. I just want to talk to Ros and go home." She sat as Harry smiled slightly. He knew Ruth hated hospitals as much as he did. He knew it was only because he had insisted she was checked over that she was there in the first place.

"So what's the damage?" Harry glanced at the A&E card on the table as Ruth glanced towards the nurse.

"One cut in my hairline, three stitches. Concussion, at least three broken ribs and my ears are still ringing." Ruth looked at the floor.

"She'll live" The nurse smiled as he left the couple alone.

"Thank God." Harry smiled as Ruth stood up. She was still deathly pale and Harry flinched at the anger in her eyes. "Ruth? Ros is in the waiting room with Malcolm. Do you want to see her?" Ruth nodded as he lead her back to the waiting room, wondering if and when the damn would break and Ruth would drop the Ice Queen act she was learning so well from Ros.

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Malcolm breathed out a sigh of relief as Ros followed the nurse from the Relatives room and towards the Trauma Bay where Lucas was being prepared from theatre. He smiled slightly as he saw Harry and Ruth walk towards him.

"Malcolm?" Ruth looked for her friend as Malcolm nodded.

"Ros is with Lucas. They are preparing him for theatre." He explained as he sat back down. His back still ached from his own experience with explosives. Ruth sat next to him.

"How are they?" Harry asked as he thought of the young couple who had already been through so much.

"Ros is angry. She wants to question Mai herself." Malcolm started. "I persuaded her to take someone with her."

"Me" Ruth glanced at Harry. She silentl dared him to contradict her. When he didn't she turned back to Malcolm.

"Lucas has a fracture dislocation of his left elbow, a burn to his back and a slight cut to the back of his head. He needs to go to theatre to have some pins put in his elbow." Malcolm winced at the thought of it. "Really we were all very lucky."

"Yes." Harry sighed. "Yes, we all got out alive. That is something to be thankful for. Malcolm call Tariq, just check he's ok. For a desk officer he tends to throw himself into the line of fire a little too readily. I just want to check he is ok. Might look better if it came from you." Malcolm nodded.

"Already done. He's with his father. He's a little shook up but I think he'll be fine." Malcolm smiled at the thought of the young man. "Tougher than he looks."

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Emma slept peacefully as she clutched her favourite rag doll. The toy had been won by Zaf at a fair a few weeks before and Emma loved it. She slept on oblivious to the two adults watching her in the doorway.

"Zoe"

She turned slightly as Zaf kissed her neck.

"Yeah?"

"You ok? You've been quiet since we got home." Zaf stared at her as she rested her head back against his chest.

"Fine." She sighed. "Just fine. You?"

"Yeah. Just thinking, life is too short. Maybe we should start thinking about setting a date." Zaf almost whispered. He knew that although Zoe had proposed to him she wasn't overly enthusiastic at wedding planning. Zoe smiled as Zaf spoke.

"Maybe we should." Zaf smiled at her words before hugging her tightly. "Maybe we should."

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Ruth had intended on returning to the Grid. There was a mountain of paper work and data analysis after any terrorist attack but she knew there would be even more questions to be answered this time. Harry glanced at her as he drove them both home, insistant that Mai could wait until the morning now that the Thames House doctor had given her the all clear. He continued to drive in silence as Ruth stared out of the window. It wasn't until they reached the house and Harry parked the car that he spoke.

"Tomorrow Ruth. Tomorrow Mai will be interviewed and we'll get some answers."

"I need to know Harry." She turned to face him.

"I know."

"Do you? Why was he there? Why was he tied up in Nightingale? Did they know who I am and is that why he agreed to buy Lucas and I?"

"I know you need answers. We all do." His hand touched hers as she linked her fingers through his. "Is there anyone there apart from Zaf and Ros that could possibly know who you are?"

Ruth closed her eyes and nodded. She didn't want to believe it. The thought of a man they had saved on more than one occasion had become a turncoat made her feel slightly sick.

"In the Conference Room. Andrew Lawrence looked right at me. He knew who I am. It was him that sold us out Harry. I am certain of it." Ruth met his eyes as Harry nodded.

"Tomorrow." Harry brought her hand to his lips and kissed the palm. "Tomorrow, we get all our answers."

Ruth nodded as she opened the car door. The quiet night, lit by stars made the events of the day seem even more unreal. She glanced across as Harry made his way to her side. Smiling slightly she took his hand and leant into him as he hugged her.

"Tomorrow." She whispered as she hugged him. Glad beyond all recognition that this time they all had a tomorrow, knowing it could have all been very different. Harry kissed her hair as he prayed the clean up after the op would go smoothly but he couldn't help but think this was the calm before the storm.

**A/N Is Harry right to be worried? Are Ruth and Ros going to be able to interview Mai? Please review. More soon (ish!)**


	12. Breaking Waves

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Breaking Waves.**

"Ros" Lucas' voice sounded raspy in his own ears. Every part of him felt bruised and battered.

"Hello." Ros smiled slightly as he blinked before focusing on her.

"You ok?"

"Lucas, you know me. I'm always ok." Ros raised one eyebrow as he smiled slightly.

"What happened?"

"The hotel blew up." Ros stated as a matter of fact. She saw him take a sharp breath and look away from her for a moment.

"Yeah, I thought so." He looked back at her. His eyes boring into her own. "I'm sorry."

"Why? What have you got to be sorry for?" Ros was immediately on guard. Things had only just began getting back to normal between the pair of them. She had just about got her head around the fact he hadn't been born Lucas North. She wondered what else he might confess to now the anaesthetic was still slightly in his system.

"Couldn't get to you. I was too late. I just couldn't get to you and Andrew. I should have been faster."

"No" Ros shook her head. "That was a long time ago. Please tell me you haven't been feeling guilty about that all this time? "

"You and Andrew, you could have been killed. Sarah and Nightingale." He coughed slightly as Ros felt her pulse begin to race.

"Sarah is dead. Alot has happened since then." Ros didn't panic usually. Lucas was the only person she had had a panic attack in front of, the thought that he had forgotten everything that had happened between them made her feel sick. "Lucas?"

"Sarah was a traitor."

"I know" Ros answered. She was relieved he at least seemed to remember that. "Listen to me" She touched his face gently as he caught her hand in his good one. "Stop me when you don't know what I'm talking about, ok?"

"Ok" Lucas held her gaze.

"You are Lucas North, you work for MI-5 Section D, Counter Terrorism." She paused. "I'm Section Chief, Harry Pearce is the Section Head. We work with Malcolm, Tariq, Ruth, Beth, Dimitri, Zoe, Adam and Zaf. You are married, with two children. Amy and James. Amy is 22 months and James is 11 weeks."

"I'm a Dad." Lucas smiled. "I knew that. And I also happen to know my wife is the most beautiful, stubborn, strongest woman I have ever met." Ros raised an eyebrow as he spoke. "I know who you are Ros." He smiled as she glared at him. "I think I just got a bit muddled about the bomb I was caught in this time, there have been a few you know?" He smirked as Ros closed her eyes. "I love you Ros and even if I did have amnesia I would know who you are and how I feel about you. I love you."

"Lucas." Ros sighed as she looked at their entwined hands. "You scared me."

"Now thats not something I thought I'd hear you admit. I must be more injured than I thought." He smiled as Ros shook her head.

"Only you, Lucas North. Only you." She kissed him on the lips as she spoke.

"Go home Ros, spend some time with the kids and get some sleep." He brushed her blonde hair from her face as she nodded.

"Ok, you behave yourself."

"Go home." Lucas smiled as she stepped back. It was only when she reached the door that she shook herself before walking back to him and kissing his forehead.

"Lucas, I "

"I know Ros." Lucas smiled. "I know."

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Harry was exhausted. He knew he had been asleep the moment his head had touched the pillow. He rolled on his side as he realised he was alone in the bed.

"Ruth?" He yawned as he sat up. She was no where to be seen. Only Fidget had taken up residence on the end of the bed. Harry shook his head, it didn't matter how often he tried to throw the cat out of their bedroom Fidget always seemed to get herself settled on the end of the duvet. "Where is she Fidge?" Harry didn't have the energy to argue with the older moggie. Fidget raised her head and stared at Harry as if pondering his question. Harry shook his head as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. He had a fair idea where Ruth was. He made his way down stairs hoping he was right and Ruth hadn't gone into the Grid at 3 am in the morning.

"Ruth?" He repeated as he reached the living room. His heart began to speed up as he realised she was not there. "Ruth."

"Harry?" Ruth emerged from the kitchen. "What are you doing awake? We have to be in work in a couple of hours."

"I know." Harry turned to face her. "You were gone."

"I was making a drink. I can't sleep."

"I see."

"You keep saying that Harry. Everything is alright. I see." She closed her eyes as she tried to control her temper. "It isn't though. Is it? How can it be? Andrew Lawrence is missing. He may have sold me out. He obviously knew Mai. From what Ros told me he was quite friendly with her. Anyway, what the Hell was _he _doing there?" Harry knew she wasn't really angry with him. All her anger was intended for Robert but it didn't have anywhere to go. Harry stepped a little closer to her. She looked away, almost completely shutting him out. _Shutting down more like, _Harry thought as he touched her shoulder.

"You're right. Of course you are. Things are far from all right. Nightingale are back and playing silly buggers. I really had hoped we had seen the last of them. I have one member of my team in hospital and we have two corpses, both linked to Nightingale. One Chinese assasin in custody and one missing politican." Harry touched her dark hair, brushing it from her shoulder.

"You never trusted him. You were right."

"Don't tell Ros that." He smiled slightly. "Wish I had been wrong."

"Why? Harry. Why now?" He knew she wasn't just talking about Andrew. He shook his head, knowing she wouldn't be able to rest until she had all the facts laid out in front of her.

"Honestly? I don't know Ruth. I asked Malcolm to pull all the files pertaining to his death. See why he faked it. He may have been a part of Nightingale even then." Ruth nodded. It seemed plausable. She had faked her death, as had Adam and Ros. It was plausable he had too. She shook her head as tears came to her eyes, angry at herself for feeling upset.

"I" She started as her voice broke.

"Ruth." Harry stepped forward again and pulled her into his arms. "We'll find out. We'll get the answers." He whispered into her hair. "And it will be ok Ruth. It will." He felt her nod against his bare chest as he hoped that this time he was right.

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Tariq was surprised he was the first person to arrive on the Grid. It was almost always him running in late as the rest of the team either ignored him or lied to cover his abscence. For a moment he wondered if he really was supposed to be on duty. Sighing heavily he logged on to his computer as Beth walked in to the Grid.

"Tariq?" She smiled as Dimitri followed her.

"Morning." Tariq answered.

"Didn't know you would be here. Aren't you normally still asleep at this hour?" Beth teased as Dimitri walked towards the kitchenette.

"I'm like a shark." Tariq tried not to yawn as his computer whirred into life. "I never sleep." Beth smirked as Dimitri rolled his eyes. Tariq was oblivious to it all.  
"Right then" Dimitri flopped into his chair. "Malcolm's stag night. Any ideas?"

"Does he even want a stag night?" Beth laughed.

"Does he get a choice?" Dimitrei answered as Tariq shrugged. The rest of the team, bar Lucas began filtering into the Grid as Harry emerged from his office looking more tired than most of the team could remember seeing him.

"BRIEFING ROOM, FIVE MINUTES!" He yelled before returning to the privacy of his office and picking up the phone.

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Ruth didn't want to attend the meeting. She didn't want to see the faces of her friends and colleagues as she knew there would be questions, not only about Andrew but the presence of her step brother. She remained at her desk until the last minute, only moving when Malcolm touched her shoulder.

"Ruth, come on." He smiled slightly.

"Two minutes." She answered. Malcolm nodded before stepping back.

"Ruth, come on. You've been looking at the screen for the last five minutes." Malcolm turned as she huffed and got to her feet. He had no idea what was worrying his friend but he could see she hadn't slept. But she was not the only one on the team that had missed out on a good night's rest. He looked across to see Ros walk towards them.

"Where is everyone?" She rested her hands on her hips as Ruth paused.

"Briefing Room. How's Lucas?"

"Sore. Hating being in hospital. Attempting to self discharge. He's only there now because I threatened to divorce him if he left." Ros watched as Malcolm rolled his eyes.

"Ok then." He smiled as he walked towards the Briefing Room, aware that any second Harry would be screaming for them.

"The kids?" Ruth asked.

"James is fine. Slept through for the first time. Amy, well Amy is missing Lucas already." Ros felt a pang of guilt at leaving her children with the childminder yet again. She promised herself she'd spend more time with them when the case was over, when Lucas was home. Ruth nodded. She knew Ros and Zoe constantly seemed to be feeling guilty about being working mothers. Reluctantly she followed Ros into the Briefing Room and took her seat.

"You ok?" Zaf whispered as she nodded her head once sharply. Zaf knew when to leave her alone and returned his attention to the computer screen where Zoe was outlining what they already knew.

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"Andrew Lawrence, former Home Secretary" Zoe stared at the screen. "Last seen in the hotel thirty minutes before the bomb exploded. He was talking to this man. " She pointed the laser pointer at the screen. "James Evers." Ruth stared at the screen. Her step brother had used an alias. She silently reasoned that should be no surprise. She forced herself to remain seated, knowing Harry was watching her.

"Only thing is. " Ros interjected "Andrew hasn't been seen since."

"He can't have vanished into thin air." Adam glared at the screen. He was still angry his friend was in hospital and he didn't like the way two other friends were reacting to the case. Ruth and Ros were always calm and cool. Often a little too calm. Now he could see the anger bubbling beneath the surface of both women. He glanced at Ruth again, she seemed more scared than angry. He didn't know why but he didn't like it. He made a mental note to try to talk to her later in the day.

"Well, when the fire alarms went off the hotel receptionist, Becky Morgan took the ledger. Everyone on that list is either a delegate or a guest in some other capacity. She ticked off everyone that was registered as being in the hotel when they reached the fire assembly points. Andrew Lawrence wasn't there. Yet his was not one of the bodies that were brought out." Zoe replied.

"We know who they are." Ruth spoke for the first time.

"Yes." Ros answered. "Did any of the CCTV survive? Can we see when Andrew left the hotel?"

"I'm working on the remnants. The cameras and the recordings were badly damaged. It may take a while." Malcolm stared at Ros who just nodded.

"May I remind you." Harry spoke calmly as he rested his hands together. "Nightingale was one of the biggest threats we have faced over the last five years. They were well organised, well funded and had friends in some very high places. If this is them returning to haunt us then be careful. We already have one man in hospital." He looked at Ros who narrowed her eyes. "And we all know Andrew Lawrence. Don't let that blind you. Until we know otherwise we must treat this as if it was Nightingale. Ruth try to weed out the psychopaths claiming responsibility for the bombing to boost their own egos. Adam, Zaf get over to the Cousins, make sure they know we will be expecting their full cooperation, seeing as it was their incompetance that meant we were on the backfoot the last time. Beth, Dimitri dig up anything and everything you can on Andrew Lawrence. Find him. Malcolm work on the CCTV footage. Tariq help Malcolm with that. Zoe, speak to your asset and Ros." He turned to his Section Chief. "How do you feel about unsettling a few people at Whitehall?"

"Love to." Ros smiled slyly.

Harry pushed his chair back, effectively ending the meeting as Adam and the others began preparing to leave. Ruth was rooted to the spot as Harry realised they were the only two people left in the room. Her eyes were fixed on the image on the computer. Harry walked towards the computer and turned it off.

"Why did he do it? Why fake his own death only to kill himself in front of me?" Harry closed his eyes as she spoke, he was glad he had given the others tasks. He knew they would all be too focused on what he had told them to do rather than what they were doing still in the Briefing Room. Harry shook his head before walking towards her.

"I don't know. Guilt? He knew he would be arrested and charged under the Anti Terrorism Act? Knew you would never let him escape? Maybe he was afraid the Courts would find out how evil he really was?" Harry rested a hand on her forearm. "He can't hurt you anymore Ruth. He can't hurt anyone ever again." She nodded as she let him hug her. He kissed her hair as he held her. As her husband he wanted to pull her off the case, but as the Section Head he knew they couldn't do this without her.

**A/N Thank you for the reviews. I know I said I wouldn't update for a while but this chapter wouldn't leave me alone.**


	13. Deadlier than the Male?

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Deadlier than the Male?**

Whitehall was not Harry's favourite place to be. He glanced at Ros as they walked from the Home Secretary's office. Both aware that William Towers was not happy with them at all. Ros was in full Ice Queen mode as they reached the lifts. Harry paused as Ros turned to look at him.

"What?"

"Ros. Are you well?"

"Harry, why wouldn't I be?" She smiled slightly as he raised an eyebrow.

"I know." Harry paused. "I know we've had run ins with Nightingale before."

"Yes." Ros answered as she glared at him. "I think spending three weeks in Intensive Care classifies as a run in."

"That's what I'm saying Ros. You were in hospital last time. You nearly died. Lucas is there now. It's too close to home." Harry spoke softly, hoping to get her to see reason. He had almost brought Adam to Whitehall for the very same reason. Ros held his gaze, trying to control her temper.

"Harry, last night my husband had emergency surgery to pin his arm back together. He will be scared for life. I have scars across my back and burns on my arms from what these people did and worst of all. What really got to me was Amy. Last night I had to explain to a toddler that her daddy wasn't coming home. She cried herself to sleep once I had collected her and James from Carrie's place. So if you are asking if this is personal for me? Yes it is. If you are asking if I can do my job? Of course I bloody well can. Have you asked any of the others? No thought not." Ros walked away as Harry smiled. He knew he had to keep an eye on her but as far as he could tell his Section Chief was on top of her game. He almost felt sorry for Mai knowing Ros was taking Ruth to interview her later. For a moment he thought about pulling rank and telling her to take Beth, or Zaf or Dimitri but he knew there was no way either woman was going to accept that. Ros and Ruth were close these days and more than likely to stick together whatever happened. He smiled slightly knowing it was that friendship that had kept both of them alive the day before.

"Ros." He followed her. "Just be mindful. We are still being watched. As Towers said there are still people that want Section D disbanded."

"I am well aware it is only the fact you know too much that we still have a section. Look Harry, I am a big girl. I can look after myself and if you are worried about Ruth. Don't be. I won't let Mai get too close. You know that." She smiled slightly as she walked into the lift.

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Beth walked back to the car in silence as she tried to control her temper. She knew the new CIA liasion hadn't been particularly truthful with her and Dimitri. She glanced sideways as he opened the car door and got in the driving seat.

"So much for the special relationship." Dimitri shook his head.

"This is ridiculous" Beth huffed as he started the engine. "Dim, we are playing catch up. Why did you let Adam talk you in to letting us do this? I hate playing catch up."

"So are Zoe, Adam and Zaf." Dimitri reminded her. "They weren't here either. Adam has an asset that may be able to lead us to Lawrence."

"I know but we are still the new guys." Beth stared out at the spring sunshine as Dimitri drove towards Thames House.

"Yeah." He smiled. "Sucks sometimes."

"I know." She rested her head on the window.

"But, on the upside." Dimitri smiled. "It isn't raining."

Beth shot him a look as she wondered if he had just spent a little too long locked away from the rest of the world in his submarine.

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Harry walked back on the Grid to see the rest of his team busy as an air of organised chaos decended the place. Ros walked past him, straight into the kitchen as Harry paused by Ruth's desk.

"Ruth?"

"No news on the whereabouts of Andrew Lawrence as yet. I've been looking into the meeting in Basel again. We know he was there but maybe I missed something the first time around." She shrugged as she looked up at him.

"I'm sure you didn't." He smiled slightly as she raised an eyebrow.

"Anyway, as we know he was there. But since the explosion we have barely seen him. Once he was out of office there was only the time he was chased by a hitman."

"We never really found out why did we?" Harry mused as he saw Beth and Dimitri walk back on to the Grid.

"No. Too busy trying to stay alive ourselves."

"Yes." Harry smiled slightly. Ruth rolled her eyes, remembering the argument they had over the safe house. "Only we could have a honeymoon interrupted by a hitman."

"Yes, well." Ruth returned the smile as Beth walked up to them.

"Ruth, that idiot at the ..." She paused as Harry and Ruth seemed lost in their own world for a moment. "Sorry," She smiled cheekily. "Am I interrupting something?"

"What can we do for you Miss Bailey?" Harry snapped as Ruth turned back to her computer blushing furiously. _Stop it Ruth! _She shook her head as Beth started explaining how unhelpful the CIA liasion officer had been.

"Bloody man." Harry turned on his heel and headed towards his office intent on calling his couunterpart in Grovsner Square and telling them exactly what he thought. Ruth watched as he snatched the phone up from his desk before turning away. She could already picture how he would barely control his temper as he told Jacob Howells what he thought of him and the CIA in general.

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Adam ran across the busy West London street as Zaf started the car engine. He was keen to get back to Thames House. Adam smiled as he reached the car door and jumped into the passenger seat.

"Ok?" Zaf asked.

"Yeah." Adam smiled as two women passed the car. He couldn't help but notice their hemlines were higher than most women their age would wear. He shook his head. "Yeah, seems our friend has organised a false passport."

"Now, if he had nothing to hide why bother with that?" Zaf asked as he shook his head.

"Dunno mate. Let's ask him."

"What?"

"He's meeting his forger in the next hour. In Bow."

"Now if you had let me sign out the Audi we could have been there in time to see him arrive and get a cuppa beforehand." Zaf smirked.

"If you ain't up to it mate, I'll drive." Adam watched as Zaf's eyes filled with horror. He was determined to drive the car even if he had wanted to sign out the higher preformance car. Adam smirked as he watched his friend pull the car out into the steady flow of traffic.

"Nah, we'll make it."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ros glanced at Ruth as they made their way towards the Interview Room. She had taken Ruth with her to interviews before. They had never gone well. But she reasoned they could use Ruth's analytical skills. She watched as she realised Ruth was doing a pretty good impression of the Ice Queen of Section D. _That's my job!_ Ros thought as she watched Ruth's eyes almost freeze over.

"You want to leave, just go. Ok?" Ros watched as Ruth nodded.

"I'll be fine. It'll be good to know who wanted to buy me and Lucas and why."

"I do the talking." Ros pushed the room door open before Ruth could argue.

Ruth sat at the small table with the tape recorder as Ros hung back. Mai remained impassive as Ruth pressed the record button on the tape recorder. "For the benefit of the tape, it is 14:27 on Thursday 17th March 2011. Those present are Section Chief Rosalind Myers and Senior Intel Analyst Ruth Pearce. Interview is Mai Su Yung. Also known as Maria Chen and various other aliases." Ruth glared at the woman in front of her.

"Right." Ros walked right up to the Chinese woman as Mai stared at Ruth. "Yes, she lived. You need to start talking." Ros crouched next to her. "You see, the man in the hotel room with her. Remember? Tall bloke, dark hair, tattoos? That's my husband. I'd like to know why you tried to kill him. I know there have been times when I've thought about it."

"No comment."

"Oh here we go. You been watching too many episodes of Law and Order. No comment wont get you very far with me." Ros smiled sweetly.

"I'd answer her questions." Ruth interjected as Ros kept her gaze on the woman in front of her.

"You were a spy. I was right." Mai smirked as Ruth frowned.

"No, technically I am an Intel Analyst. She's a spy." Ruth nodded towards Ros.

"Who's she? The cat's mother?" Ros stared at the Chinese woman. "I don't really care why you killed the real Maria Chen. I really don't care what you thought you were doing in the hotel. I can find that out later. What I care about, what I intend to find out is the current location of your boyfriend."

"I have no boyfriend."

"Oh? More than one then?" Ros watched as Mai glared. "Oh ok." She paused as Ruth sensed Ros was about to loose the plot. Or at least make the woman in front of her think she had. "I've played nicely so far. But as my friend here will tell you. I am not the most patient woman. It may be better to answer my questions. Where is Andrew Lawrence?"

Mai shook her head as she laughed at Ros. _Oh bad idea. Really bad idea. _Ruth thought as Ros grabbed the woman and threw her against the wall.

"Where is he?" Ros asked again as Mai tried to catch her breath.

"Do you know Christine Dale?" Ruth stood up as Mai nodded once. "You might know her as Christine Quinn."

"Chrissy." Mai answered as Ruth and Ros exchanged glances.

"Ok, if you are on first name terms with her why are you shagging her bloke?" Ros really hated the woman in front of her. Mai shook her head.

"I am not. He wanted me to, I wont deny that but I am here to work. Sleeping with him was not part of that work." Mai realised she had said more than she had intended.

"Ok, fine. I believe that." Ros watched as Mai looked relieved. Then she tightened her hold on her throat. "I also believe that you are a hired assasin for Nightingale, when it became clear MI 5 had inflitrated the conference and found out about your plans you, along with Lee Wong set about blowing the place up. Not before you sold two high ranking British Security Officers to the highest bidder. Who were you selling them too?"

"No."

"WHO!"

"Answer her. " Ruth met Mai's eyes. She needed to know.

"He did not tell me his name."

"You seriously bet me to believe that? It's got bells on." Ros answered.

"Fox. He told me he was Fox. I needed the money to get away. Your Mr Lawrence had offered many promises he could not keep." Mai couldn't drag her eyes away form Ruth as she answered Ros.

"Sounds like him." Ros released her. "You know he would have killed them. What way could that help you?"

"You have children? You won't understand. You people you stand in the way of progress! You have no idea how much better the world could be." Mai laughed as Ros stepped back. "Are you a mother?"

"Yes." Ros glared at her. She was trying to work out what Mai's ramblings may mean. Ruth stood and walked towards her.

"You? Cath? You have children?" Ros' eyes snapped towards her friend. She knew it was a touchy subject for Ruth and was surprised to see her nod.

"I have a family. It's why I do this. Protect them from people like you. You have no idea do you? How many people have you killed? How many you could have killed if we hadn't evacuated the building. You stupid brainwashed woman."

"Omlettes and eggs." Mai laughed. "To make an omlette you have to break eggs."

"I'll break you in a minute." Ros stepped towards her as the door to the interview room opened.

"Boss?" Zaf walked in.

"Better be good." Ros turned to him. Ruth walked to the tape recorder and began explaining who had just walked in.

"We found Christine Quinn."

Ros nodded once before turning back to Mai. "Aren't you a lucky girl?"

Zaf looked at Ruth as the Intel Analyst frowned. "Ruth?"

"I think we are done here, don't you Ros?"

"Oh yes." Ros walked past both officers as Mai was left wondering what she had told them that was of any use.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Christine stood in Harry's office as he tried to work out why the woman had come to him. She looked scared and worried. Not a state he would normally have associated with the former CIA officer.

"What can we do for you?" Harry asked as Adam and Ros joined them in the office.

"Where is he? Which stone has he crawled under now?" Ros asked as Harry raised a hand.

"If I knew that I wouldn't be here." Christine turned to Ros who raised an eyebrow. Adam frowned but remained silent.

"So that begs the question Mrs. Quinn. Why are you here?" Harry asked.

"I need your help."

"Why should we help you? At the moment your fancy man is number one suspect in a terrorist investigation." Adam spoke for the first time.

"Because if you don't I have a strange feeling he is going to do something really stupid." Christine sighed. "I have a feeling he will let them blackmail him even more."

"Lawrence is being blackmailed?" Ros rolled her eyes. "Well, go on. I could do with a laugh."

"Ros." Harry warned as she glared.

"Yes. He is. Andrew is many things but he is not a terrorist. Not by choice anyway."

"He is a suspect. Nightingale have had friends in some very high places before so I see nothing to suggest this is not the same situation again. I have asked Alec White to join us. We will find him Christine but I am not sure we can spare him. Not this time." Harry watched as the blonde in front of him nodded.

"Even if he is in prison at least I know he is safe." She answered.

"Very touching." Ros answered. She wanted to shake the woman in front of her. It seemed Christine had a terrible knack of finding men with exploding consciousness. First Tom then Andrew. "You may want to get your story straight. Where were you yesterday evening?"

"What?"

"You heard." Ros knew Adam and Harry were letting her push Christine. She was still furious that Lucas had been hurt. She had been terrified when she had been stuck in the hotel, convinced that this time there was no escape. No one knew the flashbacks were now back and worse than ever. No one knew she was on the verge of a panic attack ever since Lucas had been wheeled in to theatre. If Christine was hiding something she intended to find out what it was.

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**A/N Does Christine know anything? Will Alec help? Where is Andrew anyway? Please review. Fluff next time I promise!**


	14. possibilities

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Possibilities.**

Beth sat at her desk reading the file on Andrew Lawerance as Tariq and Malcolm tried to fit together pieces of CCTV footage that had been damaged in the blast. Occasionally Malcolm could be heard tutting in frustration as he worked. Tariq had so far drunk three cans of Red Bull. Beth smiled slightly as she watched the technical officers. Malcolm had the patience of a saint whereas Tariq could certainly test it. She returned her attention to the file as Zoe walked across to where Ruth was studying the facial recognition profile running on her computer.

"Ruth?"

"Hello." Ruth didn't take her eyes off the screen.

"I, er was wondering."

"I can't babysit this week." Ruth didn't pause as Zoe rested her head on her hands.

"I wasn't going to ask that." Zoe frowned slightly. "Not that Emma wouldn't love to see you."

"What do you want Zoe?" Ruth paused the programme before turning to her.

"I just don't think this is Nightingale." Zoe bit her lip.

"Ok, on what evidence?" Ruth had hoped Nightingale was a long forgotten nightmare. She stopped staring at the screen in front of her and turned to her friend. "Zoe, no group has taken responsibility for what happened. By now half a dozen idiots are usually trying to claim responsibility even when half of them wouldn't be able to get a party popper to go bang." Ruth watched as Zoe nodded.

"I know." Zoe wasn't sure were she was going with it. "It doesn't feel like Nightingale. I know Mace is dead. But."

"Until proven otherwise we have to assume it's them."

"Why was Robert Wells involved in it all. I thought he committed suicide in 2000." She realised she had said the wrong thing as Ruth visibly paled in front of her.

"He did. He faked it, I am trying to find out why. That's why I'm waiting for customs to get back to me, see when he entered the UK. That's why I'm running the facial recon. He was here under an alias." Ruth paused as she suddenly felt sick.

"You ok?" Dimitri looked over at her as she pushed her chair back from her desk and almost sprinted from the Grid. "Well, go after her Zo!" Dimitri shook his head as Beth held up her hand.

"No, I'll go." She watched as Zoe breathed a sigh of relief. Zoe was certainly not the Ice Queen Ros was but she was not the most empathetic of people. She hadn't even noticed how Ruth had become more introverted since returning from Exeter. She turned as she realised Harry was staring out the window at her. She shrugged her shoulders and returned to her desk as Ruth's programme automatically restarted itself and began bleeping.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruth sat on the floor of the toilet cubicle as she tried to calm herself down. She had felt sick since Lee Wong had hit her across the face. The doctor at the hospital had told her she had three broken ribs and concussion. She had put the nausea down to that but she had felt sick intermittently since leaving Exeter. Holding her injured ribs she took a shuddering breath as she realised someone was in the ladies toilets with her.

"It's me." Beth tapped on the door. "You ok in there? Have you stopped puking up now?"

Ruth smiled slightly. Beth was nothing if not straight to the point.

"Yes. and I think so."

"Good." Beth went to lean against the sinks directly opposite. "Why are you puking anyway? You eaten something from the canteen or has Harry been cooking again?"

"Harry is a good cook." Ruth paused. That wasn't strictly true. "Well, he's better than me."

"So why?"

"Concussion." Ruth mumbled as Beth seemed to have settled in for the duration.

"This Nightingale stuff? You really think the former Home Secretary is an asset?"

"Originally I thought it was a possibility. Now I don't know." Ruth stood slightly as the world swam around her. "Ros would hate it if he was."

"Tariq said he used to have a thing for her."

"Lawrence? Yes we all thought that. Ros and Lucas got together after the bomb. After Ros had been in hospital. I know she wouldn't look at him now." Ruth smiled as she remembered Lucas had asked her for advice when he was unsure what to do about Ros.

"I think he's a creep." Beth stared at the still closed toilet door. "You coming out of there or what?"

"In a sec." Ruth closed her eyes as another wave of nausea washed over her.

Beth smiled as she saw Harry open the door and raise a finger to his lips. She nodded as he stood next to her at the sinks. He felt decidedly uncomfortable. It was the first time he had been in the ladies toilets and he hoped it would be the last.

"You going to puke again? Should I get the doctor?"

"Maybe Beth. And no. Do not call Dr Brown." Ruth shook her head. She hadn't actually vomited, just felt it was prudent to be near the toilet.

"Ok, if it is concussion you've been ill for a while. You should see the doc." Harry couldn't help but smile. Beth reminded him of a slightly younger Ros. She had the same habit of calling people on what was happening. He folded his arms across his chest as Beth walked towards the toilet door. "Unless of course this is your way of letting us all know you are up the duff."

"BETH!" Ruth touched the lock on the door as she shouted. "No, I am not. I can't be. Not now, not after what happened in December."

"Well you are not too old. Harry, maybe." She turned back to see Harry had raisd his eyebrows at her. "Ok ok. Come back to the Grid when you are ready. Ok, I'll get Zoe to cover for you. Might stop her staring into space and getting on my nerves. See you in a bit." She avoided Harry's gaze as she walked out. Satisfied that she was on her own she unlocked the door and stepped out in to the bathroom. Only to see Harry staring straight at her.

"Oh."

"Alec White will be here in the next half hour." Harry watched as she nodded.

"Good. How long have you been there?"

"Long enough." Harry smiled slightly as she walked over and rested her hands on the ceramic sink, holding on as she tried to calm her racing heartbeat. _Beth may have a point. I haven't had a period since. Since? Oh God. Oh no. Oh this is not happening. Not now not after seeing Robert again._ She closd her eyes as she felt Harry rest a hand on her shoulder. He was beginning to get slightly worried about the Ice Queen act she had adopted. It wasn't like her. He had seen her snap, withdraw into herself but he had never seen her cold. She reminded him of a china doll Catherine had as a child. Beautiful but fragile, likely to break if handled too roughly.

"Ruth." He watched as she bit her bottom lip.

"I'm ok Harry."

"No." Harry turned her to face him. "No don't give me the I'm ok line when you are clearly not."

"Just knowing he was here. That he was in the same building as me. It made my skin crawl." Ruth stared at a point on his blue shirt as he stared at her face. He could understand that. He really could. "All the evidence for this is pointing to him being the driving force behind the hotel bomb, the fake targets. Buying me and Lucas. The intel, what Mia told Ros and I. It is all beginning to point to him."

"He's dead. We have to find a rouge politicion who happens to have a talent for finding himself in trouble." Ruth nodded as Harry touched her chin, tilting her head towards him. "Noone can hurt you now Ruth. No one."

"You were right. I should never have gone undercover." She covered his hand with her smaller one.

"No, I wasn't. You got the information. You were amazing in there. None of this is your fault. It would have happened if Beth or Zoe had been in there."

"I don't know."

"Ruth. I do." Harry kissed her forehead. "Could Beth be right?"

"No Harry." Ruth felt the tears fill her eyes. She would not let herself even hope Beth had been right. Harry smiled sadly before pulling her into his arms and kissing her forehead. Ruth clung to him as tightly as her broken ribs would allow. He kissed her hair as her tears dampened his shirt.

"It's ok Ruth. It's ok."

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Alec smiled as he walked back on to the Grid. He looked around as he realised the place had changed since his time in IA.

"Hello Alec." Adam held out a hand as Alec shook it. "Good of you to come."

"Like Harry gave me a choice."

"How's Juliet?"

Alec raised an eyebrow as Adam smiled. He knew exactly how Juliet would be reacting to him returning to the Grid.

"Busy." Alec observed.

"Aren't we always? Look, Andrew Lawrence isn't a rouge agent. This is slightly different."

"Adam, I don't see how. He is someone with links to a terrorist act. He needs to be found. We will find him." Alec stared at the younger man. Adam couldn't help but admire his confidence.

"Right, then. Harry wants us all in the Briefing Room in five minutes." He heard a collective groan from all the officers still on the Grid. Only Tariq seemed happy about that idea. Adam couldn't help but smile at his colleague's enthusiasm.

"Briefing Room?" Alec ran a hand over his craggy blue eyes. "Lead the way."

**A/N Please review. Oh Lady J. Hope you like this. ;)**


	15. old rouges and denial

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Old Rouges and Denial.**

Alec sat at the Briefing Room table wondering what the current line up of Section D were like. He had already spotted Beth as he had followed Adam towards the Briefing Room. He smiled as he realised she hadn't given him a second look. _Loosing it White. What has Juliet done to me? I'm out of practice since Harry Pearce dumped that insufferable bloody woman into my life._ He smirked as he remembered the way she had berated him as he had dropped her at the physiotherapist's office before making his way to the Grid. He looked up as Harry walked into the room looking every inch the Section Head he remembered.

"Alec."

"Hello Harry."

"You know why you are here." Harry stated as he sat in his customary place.

"Yeah. You are up shit creek without a paddle and need me to get you out of it." Alec smirked.

"Not exactly how I would put it." Harry glared at him.

"Look Harry, I helped you once because I owed you. Debt paid."

"Yes, debt paid." Harry watched as Alec stared at him. "I know why you were decommisioned. I don't care. If you can put aside your boarder alcoholic tendancies and skirt chasing to do the job you were asked I would be grateful."

"Coming from you." Alec raised an eyebrow.

"Times change." Harry smirked. He knew Alec was one of the few people, apart from Malcolm that remembered his past.

"Yeah. Spotted the wedding ring. That didn't stop you before."

"Alec" Harry warned. "I'm a different man now. I grew up I was hoping you had done the same."

"Let me get this right." Alec sighed. "You sent three of your officers, Zaf, Ros and Ruth into a hotel where the most prestigious trade conference this country has held was taking place. The woman they were supposed to protect is now dead. The hotel was blown up anyway and you now have one man in hospital, another officer concussed and two dead terrorists. One woman in custody and a missing former politicion who may or may not be linked to terrorist activity. Said terrorist group were also responsible for blowing a top London hotel sky high almost three years ago leaving him in hospital and your Section Head in ITU. Missed anything?" He holded his arms as Harry looked up.

"Glad to see you are up to speed." Ros answered as she walked in.

"Oh." Alec tried his best charm smile. "Think we met before. Alec White."

"Yes." Ros leant against the wall as the rest of the team, including a very pale Ruth walked in to the room. She narrowed her eyes as the rest of the team took their places around the table. Beth shot Dimitri a glance as he realised Beth had no idea who the new comer was either. The group remained strangely quiet as Harry waited for them to settle. Zoe was immediately suspicious of the grey haired man sat next to Ruth.

"For those of you who don't know this is Alec White, former AI investigator. He has agreed to assist us in locating Andrew Lawrence." Harry explained.

"I heard about you." Dimitri immediately mistrusted the man opposite him. He especially didn't like the way Alec looked at Beth.

"All bad I'm sure. And most of it true." Alec smirked as Ros rolled her eyes. She would never have admitted it but she missed Lucas and intensely disliked the man in front of her.

"Why exactly are you here?" Zoe asked.

"To find Andrew Lawrence."

"You were an expert in finding rouge officers, not AWOL politicians." Zaf spoke for the first time.

"I know my CV. Look you have to treat him the same way. He was the Home Secretary, then the shadow minister for Trade and Industry. Well respected at Whitehall but now he is an unknown quantity. I have no idea what he was doing at the hotel with the woman you arrested Ros but if he was innocent don't you think he would have contacted us? Or at least contacted Christine Quinn?"

"She says she hasn't seen him." Ros replied.

"You believe her?" Harry asked.

"No." Adam answered.

"Why?" Harry turned to Adam. He was one of the few that had been on the team when Tom's consciousness had literally exploded.

"I know her."

"She lied in front of us once Harry." Ruth agreed with Adam.

"Mace was there." Harry reasoned. "Some might say it was safer to lie when he was around."

"True, but she is ex CIA. She was taught to lie convincingly. We all were." Ruth held Harry's gaze. He wondered briefly if he should send her home but then he knew she was not going to go quietly.

"So." Harry returned his attention to the newcomer.

"So, at the moment our only link to anyone still alive who is linked to the explosion are Christine Quinn and Mai Su Yung. I suggest we find out what they know." He shrugged.

"Candidate for MENSA." Ros glared as Alec met her eye. He was not used to being contradicted and soon looked away when he realised she was not going to fall for his charm. Ruth couldn't help but smile as she saw Ros stare the man down, knowing the last time he had seen anyone on the Grid had been following the Christmas tree incident when the Grid had been half destroyed.

"Problem Ros?" Harry asked as she shook her head slightly. Zaf and Adam exchanged glances as Alec stood up.

"Sorry, look you obviously don't need my help." He pushed his chair away as he held Ros' gaze. "You clearly have this case under wraps, Andrew Lawrence is accounted for after all. Oh no wait, thats why I was called in the first place."

"Matter of time." Ros answered.

"Yeah, yeah it is." Alec agreed "Time you don't have."

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Zaf placed a coffee on the desk in front of Christine and smiled his best charm smile. The blonde looked from the cup to the man in front of her and back again.

"You ok?"

"I told Harry everything I know."

"Yeah." Zaf sat down next to her. "I know you did. You just looked like you needed a decent coffee that's all."

"Thanks."

"Tell me one thing."

"Oh here we go." She rolled her eyes.

"Chris, how did you ever work with those idiots at Grovesner House? They get right on my wick." He smiled as Christine burst out laughing.

"We will catch up with Andrew you know." Zaf watched as she grew serious again. "I know. He isn't a traitor Zaf, he isn't"

"Did I say he was?" He drank some of his own drink. "Ruth really has started buying the good stuff!"

"Yeah." Christine stared at him. "He is in trouble but ..."

"Mai says they had a one night stand. Her and Andrew."

"She says? You trust the word of one of the world's best known assasins?"

Zaf shook his head slowly as if considering his answer. He had played Christine and she was so out of practice to realise it.

"No." He glanced up. "No, I don't trust that woman as far as I can throw her. The question is, do you?"

Christine closed her eyes as she nodded once. Zaf waited. This was what he had been waiting for, the chink in the armour that may just tell him if the blonde knew where her partner was. If she was covering for Andrew. He watched as she looked up and met his eyes.

"Put it like this, Zaf." She paused. "It wouldn't have been the first time he has cheated on me. What you want to know is if he cheated his country."

"Yeah." Zaf finished his coffee. "That is exactly what I need to know."

"I can't help you. He left the apartment the morning before the conference. He said he'd call me that night. I wished him luck. That was the last I heard to him." Christine wanted to scream for someone to believe her. "I heard about the gas explosion, when he didn't call I came here."

Zaf nodded and pushed his chair back. "I believe you. I just wonder if you did know if he was involved in this you'd have told us. After all Lucas is in the hospital. It was him that saved your life." He walked away leaving Christine to think about what he had said.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruth felt strangely calm. She walked along the corridor of Thames House wearing the listening device Malcolm had insisted she wore. Smiling slightly she knew it was only because he cared. Nodding to Stan as she walked past she headed for the Interview Room where Mai was waiting for her. The killer wanted to talk.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Hey." Lucas smiled as Amy ran towards him.

"Daddy!" She beamed as she reached him. "Home now?"

"Soon Titch, soon." He smiled at his little girl as she gave him her best Ros look. It was unnerving sometimes she was so similar to her mother.

"Lucas." Ros watched as Amy clambered up on to the hospital bed. James was asleep in her arms as she sat down. "Can't stay for long but someone was missing you."

"ME!" Amy stared at Lucas' plastered arm.

"Really? You missed me?" He turned to his daughter who sighed dramatically. "Well, I've been discharged. Don't look at me like that, the doctor said I can go, I haven't sighed anything."

Ros smiled slightly as Amy clapped her hands. "Daddy back!"

"Yes, I'm back." He kissed her hair as she giggled. Ros knew when she was beat.

"Come on then, if you are going home." Ros stood as Amy slid off the bed onto her feet with a thud. Lucas smiled as he stood and took his daughter's hand.

"Get me out of here Ros." He couldn't help but smile as she shook her head and led him out of the ward.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruth sat in the interview room. She had always hated the small room but it was the best place for the interview she was going to have. She looked up as Adam walked in and sat next to her, smiling she knew all the listening devices in the room were active. She knew Tariq and Zoe were listening in the room next door through the two way mirror.

"You ready for this?" Adam looked at his friend. "Only Beth said you were ill."

"Beth worries too much." Ruth smiled slightly. "Let's just get this over with."

"Couldn't agree more." Mai spoke as the guard brought her into the room.

"Hello Mai." Adam tried his best charm smile. Mai narrowed her eyes at him.

"Cathy, who is this?"

"This is Adam Carter. You said you wanted to talk." Ruth realised for the first time how small the woman was.

"No, I will not talk to him."

"Mai." Adam started.

"I will not talk to the big man with his big attitude. I have nothing to say!" She spoke in Mandarin as Ruth let out an exasperated sigh. Adam stared at her. He had no idea what had just been said.

"Ok." Ruth answered in Mandarin. "You want to play it that way I can speak Mandarin as well as you know. Where is Andrew Lawrence? Why did Robert Wells kill Lee Wong before turning the gun on himself and what were you going to sell me for?" Ruth avoided Adam's gaze.

"I do not know Robert Wells."

"Fox. You knew him as Fox." Ruth held her gaze.

"You say you have a family. Are you a mother?" Adam knew Mai had said something that hit a nerve with Ruth. Her blue eyes widened as she looked at her.

"Yes." Ruth answered before she could think. "You?"

"Yes." Mai answered. Adam had the sense to keep his mouth shut. He had no idea what had been said in the last five minutes.

"Then why? Why kill another woman's child? Why do what you do? Why help Nightingale?" Adam's eyes focused on the woman in front of him. He had understood the word Nightingale. "You kill people for money. You are currently helping a known terrorist organisation gain a foothold in the Uk. How can you do that when you are a mother?" Ruth asked as Mai looked away.

"You are a mother you tell me. You understand."

"No, no I don't understand. I have seen alot of things but I don't understand. I can't understand." Ruth watched as Mai looked away. "There is a nursery three hundred yards from the hotel. Did you know that? Did you know Lucas and I had children when you tried to sell us? That's what I don't understand. Where is Andrew Lawrence?"

"I have never killed a child!" Mai stood and screamed as Adam got to his feet. He had no idea what Ruth had said to cause such a reaction. She sat quietly.

"No? I bet you've orphaned a few." She answered in perfect English. Adam watched as she stood up. "Adam, I think we can hand her over to the Chinese Embassy. She has no useful information." Ruth walked to the door.

"Ruth?"

"Please! No I will talk to you." Mai watched as Adam smiled. It seemed Ruth had learnt a few tricks from Ros.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry replaced the telephone on his desk as Tariq walked in.

"Yes!" He began to wonder if Ruth's habit of never ever knocking was catching. Tariq stood for a moment.

"Ah Harry." He paused. "You may want to see this."

Harry had a feeling he really didn't want to see anything Tariq was about to show him. He nodded once before glancing at his watch. He wondered for a moment if Ruth was still talking to Mai. He had expected Tariq and Malcolm to be watching her in the recording room next door.

"Tariq?"

"We've found him. We know where Andrew Lawrence is." Tariq explained. "Ruth got her talking, just have to pick him up now. Adam, Beth and Dimitri are already on the way."

Harry smiled slightly. He glanced up to see Ruth walking in through the Pods. He couldn't help but smile slightly as he saw her look towards her desk. She smiled slightly when she saw him looking at her. He snapped himself out of his thoughts as Tariq pointed to the screen.

"Hi." Ruth smiled as she reached him.

"You ok?" Harry whispered in her ear as she nodded. "The roof, five minutes?"

Ruth nodded her head before turning back to the screen Tariq was getting so exited about. Harry frowned, knowing whatever explanation the technical officer came up with he probably wouldn't understand it. Ruth pushed all thoughts of the next five minutes out of her head as she read the data on the screen.

"Harry, we have to contact Adam. Andrew Lawrence may be dead before they get to him."

**A/N more soon. Please review.**


	16. Rooftops

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. Thank you for all the lovely reviews. They really cheered me up as this story has nearly been deleted several times. As ever in Spooks nothing is as expected. Oh and do I write Malcolm's stag night?**

**Rooftop**

Harry stared at the London skyline watching a plane thousands of miles above heading towards the horizon. He smiled slightly knowing he would give anything to be on that plane with Ruth. Then he realised that knowing their luck it was probably headed to a war zone. He shook his head as he remembered their ill fated trip to Bagdad when Adam had been in hospital. It was the one and only time they had left the country together. Sighing he looked at his watch wondering why Ruth was late, she had agreed to meet him in their usual spot but he had no idea if she was going to arrive.

"Harry." He smiled as he heard her voice.

"I was beginning to think I had been stood up." He turned to face her, noticing how pale she was. He didn't like how she seemed much smaller than usual. It was as if she had drawn herself in, away from the world.

"Sorry." She stared at the floor.

"Ruth, what is it?" He touched her shoulder. "Talk to me please. Remember we said no more secrets. I saw the footage of your interview with Mai. I know you told her you are a mother. You've been quiet, pale and sick more than once. What is happening Ruth?" She looked away as he spoke, she knew he was right. She had been distancing herself from him since they had got back from Exeter. She hadn't meant to.

"Did you put that through Bablefish?" She smiled slightly as he pretended to look offended before shrugging his shoulders. "Anyway I am, sort of. Chloe lived, not for long but for those few hours I was her mum. Then there is Catherine and Graham. I'm their step mum, so that sort of counts. Also the baby we lost." She looked away as tears filled her eyes. She was still unable to talk about the ectopic pregnancy without becomming emotional. Harry nodded.

"And Nico."

"Yes, for a while I suppose." She sniffed as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead.

"Ruth." She closed her eyes as she heard him say her name, before burying her head in his shirt. "I have to ask."

"What?" She mumbled into the blue cotton.

"What Beth said. What she suggested? Is there any possibility?"

"That I am pregnant? I wish Harry. You know that, even if I was it wouldn't be straightforward. Not at my age, it isn't as if I am in my twenties anymore." She pulled back to look at him. "You really hoped?"

"It's just I remembered when Catherine was having Charlie she was sick a lot. So was Jane with her. White as a sheet most of the time. You've not been right for a while." Harry felt her tense in his arms.

"That's why I was late coming up here." Ruth closed her eyes.

"You were sick?"

"No." Ruth smiled sadly. "No. I felt it and well the time of the month has shown up." She blushed furiously as Harry looked crestfallen.

"Oh."

"You really hoped, didn't you? I know I did."

"Icing on the cake." Harry smiled at her. "It would have been the icing on our cake."

"I thought so too, for a moment I even wished I was. It didn't matter if it killed me this time, selfishly I just wanted to be normal like Zoe, Ros and a million other women out there." She swiped a stray tear from her eyes. "But no, not me."

"Come here." Harry pulled her back in to his arms as he hugged her tightly to him. For a moment the pain in her ribs protested but Ruth didn't care. She never wanted Harry to let her go.

"Why did you ask me to meet?" Ruth felt him relax his hold on her.

"Oh, yes." He cleared his throat as Ruth stepped back and rested her hand on the barrier at the edge of the roof. He covered her smaller hand with his own, determined not to break contact. "I had a letter from Nico."

"What?" Ruth's head snapped around to him.

"Well, Nico and the Mother Superior."

"A nun? In Cyprus that means he is either in hospital or an orphanage." Ruth felt her heart race. The child had gone back to live with his aunt and uncle. She had only had one photograph since.

"He wrote to say he was in an orphanage. His aunt and oldest cousin, Joseph. They died in a car accident a few weeks ago. His uncle had no wish to look after him. He says he never blamed either of us for his father's death. He's on his own Ruth. And Anna actually stated that should something happen to her you were to take him." Harry watched as Ruth shook her head.

"Anna is dead? Joseph? He was only nine!" She hated the unfairness of it all.

"Yes, and as you know he has no other family over there. He's alone. The Mother Superior asked if we were in a position to start custody arrangements." He watched as Ruth grew quiet. He had no idea whether she was even listening. He knew this had come at the worst possible time. "She said that as there was no living blood relative on the island and Anna had stated her wishes for you to raise the boy in her will that Nico moving here permanently shouldn't be a problem under Cypriot family law. Especially as Nico was born in the UK, his mother was Welsh."

"What?" She had no idea Nico's mother had been British born. Harry had assumed she had known.

"Jessica Miles, died in a car accident when Nico was two. You told me that. It was only when you told me about George's temper and Frankie turned up again that I did a little digging. Jessica was born in Newport, met George on holiday in Cyprus. Insisted she returned home for the birth, she wanted to be near her own parents. Both are now dead."

"I see." Ruth frowned as she tried to absorb what Harry was telling her.

"I said I would have to speak to you. I did wonder if you had been contacted by them."

"No." Ruth shook her head. "I would have told you. When was this?"

"You were undercover."

"And is it a problem Harry? Raising another man's child?" Ruth wanted to scream. It was so unfair, for Nico, for her. She had tried to forget everything that had happened while she was away. She had believed Nico was safe and happy. Now it seemed her life was being ripped apart again, along with the life of a 12 year old child.

"No." Harry turned her to face him. "No it is not a problem. He needs us." She met his gaze and nodded. Harry would never have suggested Nico moving to live with them if it was.

"Harry." She was speachless. "The hours we work, the danger."

"Adam makes it work with Wes. Catherine practically lives in our house so she'd help. Zoe and Zaf make it work, so does Ros, of all people." He watched as she smirked.

"Ok, ok." She beamed, her eyes suddenly alive with exitement. "You win, when is this happening?"

"I explained neither of us could leave London but Graham has spoken to the Mother Superior and I have spoken to Social Services about adoption. Graham is flying out to meet him tomorrow and a social worker I know says you could adopt him in six to eight months all being well. I can't, too old." He shrugged.

"Hold on, you are too old to adopt but not to old to get me pregnant." She laughed.

"I know." He shook his head. "Hold on, Ruth?"

"Theorectically speaking Harry." She smiled as she reached up and kissed him. "Have I told you how much I love you Harry Pearce?"

"Umm, not recently." Harry smiled as she pulled him down into a kiss, whispering _"Impossible man!" _against his lips.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tariq sat at his desk watching the computerised map on the screen change depending on where Dimitri, Adam and Beth were. He glanced up to see Alec staring at him.

"You worked here long?" Alec asked.

"Long enough." Tariq smiled as he pressed a few keys on the computer in front of him. "Oh, what? Don't do this!" He muttered before the screen sprang back into life.

"Ok."

"Yup." Tari smiled. "You know the old trick with computers?"

"What's that?"

"If it stops working turn it off and on again. It actually works in some cases. Reboots the system." He shrugged as Alec shook his head in amazement. "This, here." He pointed at the screen "loops to the source of the IP address which then rebounds back to my server which gives us an accurate location when triangulated from the mainframe."

Alec felt his eyes glaze over. "Ah"

The phone on Tariq's desk sprang into life as Alec silently thanked the Gods that he had escaped the rest of Tariq's enthusiastic but illegible explanation of what he was doing. He looked across to Malcolm who just smiled as he headed towards the kitchenette.

"Harry." Tariq tapped his earpiece. "Call for you, using Ros' codes."

"Thanks, patch her through." Harry answered, wondering why his Section Chief was calling him now. "Ros."

"Hello Harry." Andrew Lawrence's voice took Harry by surprise. He tapped the small screen on the phone allowing the speaker phone to kick in and let Ruth hear the conversation.

"Andrew."

"This is getting ridiculous Harry. I am not a criminal."

"Then come in." Harry answered calmly.

"No, I want to but I can't." Ruth frowned as Harry looked at her.

"We can meet you. You know that, bring you in safely." Harry tried to reason with the clearly terrified man.

"Ok. Ros. Get Ros to meet me."

"I can have Adam with you in minutes."

"No, Ros meets me or I'm not coming in." Andrew barked. "I was set up. The hotel bomb was a set up."

"If so we can help you Andrew. You know that." Harry watched as Ruth bit her lip.

"Harry. If I see anyone but Ros Myers I will bolt."

"Ok. Where are you?" Harry knew he had to pretend to give in. Ruth touched his hand.

"You know the small Deli. The Italian on Foundry Road?" Andrew asked as Ruth nodded.

"I know it."

"Good, send Ros. She saved me before, she'll save me again."

"Yes, she has Andrew. I'll come with her."

"NO!" Andrew yelled. "Ros comes alone."

"Ok, ok, I'll send Ros."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Do I look like a bloody gofer?" Ros' heels clicked the concrete pavement as she spoke on her mobile.

"Dimitri, Adam, Zaf and Beth are already in position. Tariq and Ruth are in the spare obbo van." Harry ran a tired hand over his face. "I don't like it any more than you Ros, but we have your back."

"Did I say I needed babysitting?" Ros smirked as Harry mumbled something on the other end of the phone.

"Problem with that Ros?" Ruth asked as she settled in the back of the van next to Tariq. Tariq looked terrified but was trying his best not to show it.

"None at all." Ros opened the car door and got in the driving seat. "As long as you try not to get yourself killed before my son's Christening."

"I'll try my best." Ruth smiled as she imagined Harry rolling his eyes. Ros couldn't help but notice how Ruth sounded calmer than usual. She silently wondered what had happened.

"Ok" Tariq spoke calmly. "Comms check."

"Alpha one."

"Yes." Ros snapped.

"Alpha's two, three and four." Tariq ignored Ros.

"Yes." Dimitri, Adam and Beth singsonged.

"Delta 1"

"Tariq I am sat next to you." Ruth pulled a face as she spoke. Tariq shrugged as Harry's voice cut in over the comms.

"Be careful. We all know Andrew Lawrence but this is a completely different Andrew to the one we have worked with before. Don't expect him to behave as he always has done." Harry stared at the computer screen hoping he was wrong but had a very funny feeling the trouble was only just beginning.

**A/N Thank you for all the reviews. Please let me know what you think of this fic. Lady J, I hope you are not too annoyed with me.**


	17. watching the watchers

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. Thank you for all the lovely reviews. **

**Watching the Watchers.**

Harry stared at the computer screen in front of him. He didn't trust Andrew Lawrence and he knew he was right not to. For a moment he wished he had managed to convince his team, namely Ros and Ruth of that the first time they had met the politician. He had no evidence but it felt right not to trust him. He looked up as Zoe walked in to the Grid. She had a face like thunder, which he knew was never ever a good sign.

"Hi." She threw her denim jacket on her desk as she joined him and Malcolm at the computer.

"Zoe." Malcolm answered as Harry remained quiet.

"Harry? Why the heavy handed reception commitee?" She turned to her boss as he remained focused on the screen.

"I don't trust him."

"You never have. I know Ros did."

"Which is not like her." Harry answered.

"No." Malcolm interjected. "She never did, she just didn't see the evidence to link him to Nightingale."

"I know." Harry folded his arms across himself. "I know she bloody didn't."

"The hotel bombing, at the peace conference." Malcolm began. "I wasn't here then but I read the files, spoke with Ros. You still think it was a cover? Andrew doing as we asked him and then ending up in the building with Ros?"

"I'd like to think he hasn't got the intelligence to be a double agent but I wouldn't put it past him." Harry answered as Zoe merely raised her eyebrows.

"So, again." Her accent cut through the air. "Why now?"

"That is what I want to ask him." Harry ignored both officers as his attention remained fixed on the screen.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tariq stared at his laptop as Ruth pressed a few buttons, trying to make the signal clearer. She heard the unmistakable sound of a phone ringing as Tariq frantically began pressing a few buttons. Adam could be heard through the comms from his position outside the deli.

"Sit tight everyone." He narrowed his eyes as he saw Ros park her car.

"And what do you suggest I do?" Ros muttered as she walked up to the small Deli. It was then her phone rang. "Yes?"

"Ros."

"Andrew." She narrowed her eyes as she looked along the street. She knew the whole team would be able to hear the call. She had to play this right, however angry she was that she had misjudged Andrew and however angry she was that Lucas had been hurt.

"If there was any other way. You know that Ros. I appreciate this I really do. But if there was any other way." Andrew sounded panicked. She turned in a slow circle as she realised a red laser point was in the centre of her favourite leather jacket.

"Oh, you little.." She dived for cover as Adam began shouting in to the comms, glass exploded out of the car windows as splinters covered her. She pulled her gun and scrambled for better cover as Alec and Zaf joined her on the street. She had no idea if she was bleeding. The adrenaline was pumping in her veins as her ears began ringing.

"OFFICER DOWN! AMBULANCE NEEDED!" Beth screamed as Dimitri ran in the opposite direction. The doors of the obbo van were swinging open ominously as he reached it.

"RUTH! TARIQ!" He grabbed the swinging door of the van as he heard Zaf talking in the comms. He swore profusely as he opened the door fully. Ruth was laying on the floor of the van silent. There was no sign of Tariq. He stared at the Intel Analyst as he touched his comms.

"Harry? Alec? Not sure if comms are down." He stepped into the van, aware that he couldn't hear any of his team. When he saw the blown out laptop he understood why. Ruth hadn't moved since he had stepped into the van. "Only Tariq is gone. Ruth is."

"RUTH IS WHAT?" Harry's voice suddenly sprung down the comms network as Dimitri realised ambulance sirens were getting nearer.

"She's down. No sign of Tariq. No idea what is going on with the others." He knelt by Ruth and gently turned her over so she was laying on her back. Blood oozed from the wound in her shoulder. She looked dead. Dimitri fought the urge to be sick as he ignored Harry and Zoe talking in his ear. He registered Zoe and Harry saying something about getting hold of Lucas and coming to the sight. Other than that the brunette in front of him had his total attention.

"Ruth?" He touched her shoulder. "What happened?"

There was no response as he pulled back the navy cardigan she was wearing. The sound of the blood slapping against the fabric made him feel sick.

"Ruth?" He watched as she closed her eyes for a moment.

"Harry?" She kept her eyes shut.

"On his way." He smiled in relief as he realised she hadn't actually been shot. The bullet had hit her squarely in the chest and winded her, rebreaking her ribs but stopping short of going through the skin.

"Tariq? They." She stopped talking and took a deep breath. . "Took him. Couldn't stop them."

"Thats enough. We'll find him."

"Shot me." She pushed herself into a sitting position as she pulled her cardigan off. Dimitri frowned as she pulled the buttons on her blouse open to reveal a bullet proof vest. "Cheeky sod. They took Tariq?"

"Noticed that. I can see why you are the analyst Ruth." He looked around the ransacked van, looking for something to press on the wound. He grabbed the paper napkins Tariq had left from his last McDonald's meal. "Sorry." He winced as she took a deep breath. He gave her the napkins to press into the "Not fair." She gasped. "Shot twice now. Not even in the field and someone tried to kill me."

"Ask the boss for a pay rise." He smiled as she opened her mouth to answer him. "Shut up Pearce." . He wondered how Harry would react at her second visit to A&E in as many weeks.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Ros threw herself behind a parked yellow Renault Twingo as glass exploded above her head. She could see Zaf coming towards her as she tried to work out where the bullets were coming from.

"Ros."

"Second floor window." Ros looked across at him as he nodded. She wondered for a moment why he was looking at her so oddly. It was then she realised she couldn't move her right leg. It felt hot and sticky. For a moment she felt the familiar feeling of a panic attack begin to creep up on her. She bit her lip as she forced her eyes away from her leg. The pain in her chest made it hard to breath but the pure anger that Andrew Lawrence has set them up gave her the adrenaline rush to keep going.

"I see it." Zaf touched his comms device in his ear as he relayed the information to Adam. He knew the blonde spook would head into the building across the street. He looked across to see Beth had changed direction and was heading that way too.

"Good." Ros screwed her eyes shut for a second as she tried to move. "The arsehole shot me."

"Noticed that." Zaf ducked as another gunshot whizzed by. "How many shots is that?"

"Three." Ros gritted her teeth as she spoke. "Zaf, I am going to kill him."

"Got to catch him first." Zaf ducked and ran towards her.

"Oh I will." Ros almost screamed as Zaf pressed his hand on the wound. Blood had already soaked her jeans. She fought to keep her eyes open as the pain ripped through her. He ripped her jeans as she pulled tissues from her pocket and stuck them to the wound. Zaf raised his eyebrows as she wiped the blood away. "Not even a decent shot. Just enough to destroy my favourite jeans."

"You were shot in the chest Ros. I saw you fly backwards." Ros nodded as she touched her leather jacket.

"Isn't just Harry that can wear Kevlar vests Zaf." She smiled as she unzipped the jacket. Zaf rolled his eyes.

"You scared the crap out of me Ros!" She smiled slightly as she pressed the tissues to her leg.

"So what now?" He glanced through the shattered window of the Twingo.

"Find him, stop him. In that order." Ros checked her gun as she spoke. Zaf nodded as he heard glass shatter across the street.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"ANDREW!" Adam pulled his gun the moment the first gunshot had been heard. He glanced at Beth who had her gun drawn. She nodded as she stepped away slightly. She knew when to stay silent. "ANDREW! IT'S OVER MATE!"

There was no sound as a flash of movement to his left caught his eye. Beth turned and swung her gun towards the movement. A second later she was on the floor as a bullet whizzed by her head. Adam returned fire as she swore loudly. The sound of breaking glass and a man screaming as he fell signalled the drama was over. Beth stood up as the ambulance sirens got closer and closer.

"Adam?" Beth looked back at him as he glared at the broken glass. "Who was that?"

"Dunno but it wasn't Andrew Lawrence."

"Tariq?" Beth tapped her earpiece. No answer. She frowned. "Delta 2?"

"Beth, it's me. I have no idea where Tariq is." Dimitri sounded slightly panicked as he watched Ruth try to put the obbo van together again while she looked for the comms file Tariq had been working on.

"STATUS REPORT!" Harry barked as Alec drove like an idiot towards Foundry Road. He didn't appreciate the silence that answered him. It seemed only Zaf was brave enough to risk telling him.

"One dead suspect. Not Andrew Lawrence. Ros has been shot. Repeat Ros has been shot." Zaf watched as the Ambulance finally arrived. The blonde had given up the notion of remaining conscious and was now being held by Zaf.

"Add Ruth to that too. Sorry Harry I was too late. Ruth was shot and Tariq has been taken." Harry felt his heart stop in his chest as Alec swung the car around the corner to a stop. They both saw Ros being carried onto the ambulance as a second reached the scene and parked next to the obbo van. Harry looked at Zaf who nodded before getting in the ambulance containing Ros. He knew he would be the one calling Lucas. He prayed it was with good news. Harry ran past him towards the white transit where Ruth was hiding with Dimitri.

"Harry." Dimitri got to his feet.

"What the hell happened?" Harry stared at a very alive and very angry Ruth.

"You do not have the monopoly on bullet proof vests. Ros and I knew we would be likely targets. Before we left Thames House we both signed them out. I cut my shoulder when the bullet knocked me backwards. By the time I got to my feet Tariq was gone."

"What now?" Dimitri asked. He was worried sick about the baby of the team. Tariq was not a field officer. He wasn't trained for this.

"Find Tariq." Harry barked.

"Yes Sir." For a moment he felt as if he was back in the SBS. He stepped out of the van as he saw Adam and Alec walk towards him.

"Alec is talking to Adam. Find that boy." Harry took Ruth's hand as she smiled at him.

"You ok?"

"Me? You are the one bleeding all over the obbo van." Harry smiled as he brushed her hair back from her forehead. "They could have taken you. Whoever it was, they could have taken you."

"I know. But Tariq is clearly more valuable to them. This was a set up. They wanted Tariq for a reason, they think Ros and I are dead. I think we should let them think that." Ruth touched his arm.

"You need that cut looked at."

"It's a scratch. Have you spoken to Ros? I heard her and Zaf talking to paramedics." Ruth winced as he pulled her shirt away from her shoulder.

"Yes, she's gone to A&E for a check up. Apparently she hit her head and a bullet grazed her thigh. It will help her cover if Lawrence thinks he has killed her. We've played dead before." Harry stared at the angry cut on her shoulder.

"Yeah." Ruth sighed. "Whatever they want Tariq for, it's a big deal and they'll be helped by Ros and I being out of the picture." Harry glared. He knew she was right.

Harry was about to reply when his mobile sprang to life. Ruth held his gaze as he answered the phone.

"Harry? I think it's time we had a little talk." Andrew spoke calmly as Harry seethed.

"Andrew, what the hell are you playing at? Where is my officer?" Harry barked.

"All in good time. All in good time. I see you've lost two members of your team. I told you sending Ros with back up was a bad idea. Meet me in an hour, lets see if we both have something to trade." Andrew stared at Tariq as he spoke.

"Where?" Harry barked.

"I'll call you." Andrew hung up the call as Ruth stepped closer to her husband.

"He thinks we are dead?"

Harry nodded. He was livid. He had no intention of trading anything with the former government minister but he had to get Tariq back safely somehow.

"**A/N More soon. Is Tariq ok? Why does Andrew Lawrence want Ros dead? Especially as she saved his life twice. Please review. **


	18. Breathing Space

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. Thank you for all the lovely reviews. **

**Breathing Space.**

Ros hated hospitals. She hated the fact she was sat in a treatment room in the local A&E waiting for a nurse to clean the wound on her leg. It seemed she had been shot afterall, it had been the adrenaline of the situation that had kept her awake. That and a kevlar vest. She stared straighed ahead as she tried not to think about the wound in her leg.

"Ros."

"Can I go now?" She looked up at the doctor that always seemed to patch her and her friends back together.

"Ros, listen to me. You have bruised ribs. A bullet went through your thigh. It seems to have missed all the major arteries and nerves. How it didn't fracture your femur I'll never know. I would like to admit you for a course of IV antibiotics." He smiled slightly knowing Ros was not going to agree to stay in the hospital.

"Never going to happen. I have two children at home Mike and a husband still in plaster. I am in the middle of an active op. There is no way I can stay."

"Humour me Ros. I have been patching you and the rest of Section D up for as long as I can remember." He smiled as she rested her head back against the wall. "Oral antibiotics. See either Dr Brown or come back here for dressing changes. Any sign. And I mean ANY sign that the wound is infected and I will insist on having you admitted."

"Thanks." Ros smiled slightly. Her leg throbbed mercilessly as she met the doctor's eye. "Look Mike, I can't stay here all day."

"The nurse wont be long. You are covered for tetanus. Take the tablets Ros." He shook his head slightly before rolling his eyes.

"Remind me why aren't you the doc for Thames House?" She smiled slyly as the nurse walked into the cubicle.

"The amount of time you lot spend here I feel like I already am. Say hello to Harry for me." Ros winced as the nurse soaked her wound in iodine as she prepared to dress the wound.

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"Malcolm." Ruth stared at her friend as he avoided her gaze. "We will find him. Tariq will be fine. He knows what to do." Ruth just hoped she wasn't lying.

"No." Malcolm shook his head. "He's like you. He shouldn't be in the field."

"Training is better these days. All the newer recruits have training about what to do in the field if things like this happen." She watched as he looked up.

"And you? You knew what to do?" Malcolm snapped. The bitterness directed at Ruth was palpable.

"No Malcolm I spend my life bumbling around here quoting Greek legends and looking for obscure facts only the truely deranged would think is significant. You think I let those monsters take Tariq. That's it isn't it? You think I didn't protect him." Ruth ignored the looks from Beth and Zoe as she held her old friend's gaze.

"Ruth."

"Well let me tell you something. None of us and I mean none of us thought Tariq would be targeted. That he would be in any more danger than you sat here. He chose to go into the field. He chose to sit in that van with me. He knows the risk. He knows what we do, God only knows he's seen it often enough since he's been here. Credit him with a little sense." She paused. "And don't you dare make out you blame me for this when in truth you blame yourself!"

"I don't blame you." Malcolm looked as though he had been slapped. Ruth was on the verge of tears. She knew Harry was preparing to meet Andrew Lawrence. She was scared for the missing technical officer but she was just as scared for her husband.

"Malcolm." She took a deep breath. "I."

"You are right." He touched her uninjured shoulder. "I'm sorry I don't blame you. It's my fault. I should have been in the van with you. I'm the senior officer."

Ruth shook her head slightly. "Then I would have been having this row with Tariq." She sighed as she smiled slightly. "We will find him. You know that. This isn't like before. He isn't Colin." Malcolm sniffed as she hugged him. "I'm sorry Malcolm, I'm sorry." She felt him hug her as he buried his head in her shoulder and cried.

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Tariq had a headache. For a moment he lay on the floor with his eyes tightly closed cursing whichever member of the team had got him so drunk his head felt like it was going to explode. _Probably Dimitri or Zaf. Or Beth. Mum is going to freak if I go downstairs with a hangover. Again. Oh God._ It was then he realised he wasn't in his bed at his parent's house. He was on a stone floor of what appeared to be a damp and dingy basement.

"You awake?" A cut glass English accent cut through his skull. For a moment Tariq wondered whether playing dead was the safest option. "I said. Are you awake Tariq?"

"If you know I am why ask? And why did you kill Ros and Ruth? What have they ever done to you?" Tariq pushed himself into a sitting position, surprised he hadn't been tied up.

"Who says I killed them?"

"Andrew, I was working the techs. One of your friends bursts in the van as I heard Zaf inform us Ros was down. Then your goon shot Ruth. Point blank range. No one could surivive that. You do know there is a rumour she was pregnant? That make you feel good killing a pregnant woman?" Tariq knew he was pushing his luck. "You know Harry is going to kill you."

"You are going to help me make the world better. As my mother once said, you can only make an omlette by breaking a few eggs." Andrew stared at him. "Harry may still believe I have been set up."

"Maybe." Tariq had to conceed the point. "But will Christine? You almost died to be together."

"She'll understand."

"I doubt it. You cheated on her then you kill the women that helped save your life." Tariq glared. "And I am not helping you do anything."

"You wish to commit suicide?" Andrew shook his head. "Look I don't like the situation we find ourselves in any better than you do. Harry has to see how important the work of Nightingale is. I never really wanted to see anything happen to Ros and Ruth. Honestly I didn't. You know how much I thought of Ros Myers."

"North. She got married remember?" Tariq knew Ros still used her maiden name at work but it was worth it to see the look cross Andrew's face. He rested his head back against the wall wondering what the politician had in store for him. "Oh and hurting Ruth. Even thinking about hurting Ruth. Harry ain't gonna help you. You just signed your own death warrant. That's the thing with those two. They would both die for each other, without a thought but I always got the idea they would kill for each other too."

"Keep your trap shut. If you want to get out of this alive I suggest you do as you are told." Andrew checked his watch as Tariq believed the man in front of him had actually gone mad. The look in his eyes was truely dangerous as he glared at him before pressing the speed dial button on the phone.

"Ah Harry."

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Graham had been out of the UK a handful of times. The moment he had touched down in Cyprus he knew why Ruth had chosen to work there. He ran a hand over his eyes as he looked around the small airport. He knew he had to find a phone and call home. Catherine would be waiting to hear from him, she was worried sick he would mess this up. He smiled as he realised he had no idea how Ruth had ended up going deep undercover for almost three years or how she had ended up as the woman named in Nico's aunt's Last Will and Testament stating she was the one to be trusted with bringing the boy up. He ignored the payphone as he walked outside in to the searing heat. He had already spotted the row of taxis waiting to pick up holiday makers. _Never did like being the youngest. _He smiled, _let's see if the old bloke can get it right this time._

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Harry sat in his Land Rover staring out over the car park. Adam was silent next to him. Both were waiting for the call.

"He wont kill Tariq." Adam stated confidently.

"And you know this because?" Harry stared at the silent phone.

"He knows too much. Tariq is a good kid. He will keep his mouth shut, at least on the important stuff." Adam hoped the youngest member of the team wasn't being tortured. For a moment his thoughts turned to Jo, remembering the broken look in her eyes when he had gone to see her after their ordeal. He was just putting himself back together while she was falling apart in front of his eyes. Again he cursed himself for leaving for so long, he had always blamed himself for not looking after the girl he considered the sister he never had better. He fell silent as he realised Ruth and Malcolm were probably thinking the same way about the missing techi.

"Yes." Harry barked as he answered the mobile in his hand. "Andrew I believe you have my technical officer. I would like him back."

"I'm sure you would Harry. Not to worry, he's alive." Andrew answered. "But you were warned. Send Ros alone. And you didn't."

"No." Harry gripped the phone so hard in his hand he briefly wondered if his circulation to his fingers had been cut off.

"I am sorry about Ruth though. But the bonkers cow did try to get between my friend and the boy."

Harry glared as Adam fought the urge to swear. Andrew was playing them and he knew it.

"You said you wanted to meet."

"Oh Harry. Straight to the point. I have two of the women you care bout more than anything killed. Your friend and your pregnant wife, the only woman left with any real meaning to you is Catherine. How is she by the way?" Andrew smiled as he pictured Harry about to explode. He knew the older man had always thought of him as an Eton education fop but he was glad Harry was quickly learning that was an image he just wanted them to believe.

"Touch her and you are a dead man walking Lawrence." Harry watched as Adam stared out over the car park.

"Meet me. Ensver Tower at 4 pm. I'm sure Tariq would like to spend the night in his own bed." Andrew smiled. "Time to trade."

"Trade?" Adam frowned as Harry answered.

"You for Tariq. If Tariq Masood is an asset to Nightingale. And I am certain he would be, you would be a coup. What have you got left at 5 Harry?" Harry closed his eyes briefly, glad that he had persuaded Ruth and Ros to play dead. He knew Ros was at the hospital and Ruth was back on the Grid. He just hoped no one else found out about that. For a moment he wondered why Lawrence assumed Ruth had been pregnant.

"4 pm." Harry cut the connection as Adam stared at him.

"You can not be serious about this." Adam stared at him.

"I told you once. No one else dies under my watch. Jo was the last." He put the phone back in his pocket as Adam looked out the window. "Thames House." Harry stated as he started the engine. Adam watched his friend wondering what he was planning. There was no way he was going to trade with Andrew Lawrence. _Was there? _Adam liked to think he knew his friend well enough to know there was a plan being formulated.

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Lucas almost ran into the reception of the A&E department as Amy protested at her dad for going to fast. The waiting room was packed as uniformed police officers arrested a man for drunk and disorderly. Lucas picked Amy up, knowing her tendancy to find trouble. His plastered arm screamed out at the sudden movement picking up a toddler entailed.

"MUMMY!" Amy screamed as Lucas spun round. He smiled slightly as he saw his wife try not to limp towards him.

"Hello Shorty." Ros smiled as Amy put her arms out to her. "You ok?" Amy immediately cuddled into Ros as Lucas smiled.

"Shouldn't we be asking you that?" Lucas ran his eyes over her thin frame, as if making sure she was no more injured than Zaf had told him.

"Lucas." Ros stepped towards him as he smiled slightly. "I'm ok. More or less. They took Tariq."

Lucas nodded. Zaf had already told him when he had called. He pushed the anger down as he led Ros out of the department.

"Where's James?" Ros placed Amy on her feet and took her hand in her much larger one.

"Carrie has him. I got a taxi here." The frustration at not being able to drive was evident. He missed being able to jump in his car but with one arm in plaster he couldn't risk trying to drive.

"Ok." Ros frowned as she realised how serious her injuries could have been. Lucas nodded as he saw her tighten her hold on Amy as she looked away.

"Mum" Amy looked up as Ros nodded before picking her daughter up. Lucas rested his good arms around her shoulders before hugging her to him.

"Ros, we will find him. We will." He felt her nod against his chest as he hoped he was right.

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Beth looked around the Grid as she saw Ruth and Malcolm appear to make up. She smiled slightly as she took a sip from her mug. She watched as Dimitri walked up to her.

"Why does it seem wrong that those two argue?" Dimitri asked as Beth shrugged.

"They are just worried that's all."

"I know, but it's slightly like watching your parents argue." Dimitri shuddered as she rolled her eyes.

"Dim?" Beth turned to the former sailor.

"Yeah."

"Tariq is going to be ok isn't he? I mean this Nightingale business was stopped once. We'll stop it again. Wont we?"

"I hope so Beth." Dimitri watched as the Pod doors whooshed open to reveal Harry and Adam were back on the Grid. "I hope so."

**A/N thanks for all the reviews. Please let me know what you think. Will Graham bring Nico back from Cyprus? Will Ruth find out about people talking about her and can Tariq and Harry be saved in time? Will Harry realise he is in as much danger as Tariq. More soon.**


	19. A Shot in the Dark

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. Thank you for all the lovely reviews. **

**A Shot in the Dark.**

Ruth stared as Harry walked past everyone on the Grid and marched straight to his office. She could immediately tell something was wrong. Very wrong. She fought the urge to follow him as Adam threw himself into his chair as Zaf raised his eyebrows.

"You met him?" Dimitri asked as he walked across to the desks.

"No." Adam snapped. "He called. We meet at 4. The top of Ensver Tower."

"What?" Ruth immediately felt her pulse quicken. She hated the thought of Harry meeting the corrupt politician made her skin crawl. Adam snapped his head round to her as he spoke.

"He called. Says Tariq is alive."

"Thank God." Malcolm sighed as Ruth met his eyes. "But he wants to trade. Tariq for Harry." He avoided Ruth's gaze as he spoke. When he turned back she was gone.

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Harry knew he had to meet Andrew. It was not something he was looking forward to but he knew he had to at least try to get Tariq back. He looked out over the Grid as he watched Adam tell the assembled spooks what had happened when they had thought they were meeting Andrew Lawrence the first time. All they had was Andrew's word Tariq was still alive. Then there was Graham and Nico to think about. He had no idea if his son had arrived in Cyprus, if he was behaving himself. For a moment he toyed with the idea of calling Catherine just to check her brother had called to say he had arrived. He frowned slightly as he watched Ruth push past Zoe and head towards the fire escape. He waited for a moment before pushing his chair back from his desk and following her to the rooftop.

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The rainsoaked streets of London did little to improve Zaf's mood as he walked back towards his car. He couldn't shake the idea that if Andrew Lawrence was involved in Nightingale other highly influential people were too. He shoved his hands in his parka pockets as he walked towards the car. His asset had called with information, which may have been useful if the team hadn't already found out. He shook his head as the grey sky seemed to brighten. He pulled out the small mobile phone and pressed the speed dial button for Adam.

"Hiya." He paused as he stopped in his tracks. A blonde that reminded him of Jo crossed the road in front of him. He shook his head as he listened to Adam on the other end of the line.

"No mate. Kasim reckons he saw Andrew Lawrence with a Chinese woman the night of the bomb."

"We knew he was with Mai. She confessed to that much when Ruth spoke to her. Look Zaf, we have a developing situation here. Reckon you can get from where you are now to the Ensver Towerblock by 4?" Zaf rolled his eyes.

"Adam mate, of course I can. If I had been able to sign out a better car..."

"I know you'd have been there by half three. But Ruth still has to fill out the forms when you destroy the high preformance cars. Look I'll be there with Zoe, Beth and Dimitri in about an hour. Ros has been discharged from hospital and is going to be running the floor here." Adam answered. Something in his voice made Zaf think he was deadly serious.

"Ok, I'm on my way." He opened the car door as he ended the call. Whatever Adam was planning he knew he could be there in plenty of time to be of use. He thought of all the people that had died since he had been in Section D. _Fiona, Danny, Colin Jo, Ben. I didn't even know Ben but that's five people too many. Tariq is not going to be added to that list. _He started the engine as he thought of the young technical officer. It wasn't happening again. There was no way anyone else was dying. _I've been to too many funerals._

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Harry watched as she stared out over the city. He knew anyone else would have no idea he was watching them but Ruth seemed to have a sixth sense. He smiled as he thought about all the times they had met secretly on the rooftop. Smiling he knew this was where their courtship had really begun. He stepped towards her as she stared out across the city.

"Hello Harry."

"I am going to have to practice my stealth skills. Seems you always seem to know when I am around." He teased as he reached her side. Ruth still hadn't looked at him.

"You are really going aren't you?"

"To meet Lawrence? Yes."

"You don't have to. There has to be another way." She still refused to meet his gaze. He rested a hand on hers as she gripped the barrier.

"You know I have to." He stared at her as she turned her face away. "Ruth, please."

"I know." She finally turned as the wind wipped her hair across her face. Harry reached up and brushed the unruly hair away from her face. "Adam told me."

"I see."

"Stop saying that Harry." She snapped. "You are going to meet a madman on top of one of the highest buildings in London. You do realise he may kill you? He may kill Tariq anyway."

"I know."

"You know? Harry if you wanted to break up this is a pretty extreme way of doing it." She smiled slightly as she spoke.

"That's the last thing I want Ruth." He pulled her towards him as she finally met his eyes.

"He thinks Ros and I are dead." She watched as his eyes darkened. "He may use that against you."

"He might. I warned him to keep away from Catherine. He mentioned her and I got this sudden urge to strangle him." Harry shrugged as Ruth just stared at him.

"This isn't like him. A complete change in behaviour. In personality. It isn't normal Harry. Think about it, when he replaced Blake as Home Secretary he was an idiot. Or at least he seemed to be. But he always appeared to be anti Nightingale. He had a crush on Ros and made no attempt to hide it. He was always respectful of you. Why decide to be part of Nightingale now? Why try to kill me and Ros? Why?" Ruth met his gaze. "And why does he think I am pregnant?"

"I don't know." Harry stared at her. "I have no idea why he thought you were. Unless Tariq told him. Tried to make him feel more guilty, appealed to his basic human decency."

"Maybe." Ruth had to concede it seemed like a fair plan. She picked a spot on Harry's shirt and nodded as Harry rested his hands on her waist.

"I meet him in an hour and half. I will come back. Hopefully with Tariq." He smiled as she nodded once.

"Yes." She nodded. She wanted to sound more sure of herself but they had already seen how ruthless Andrew Lawrence had become. "Yes, but you are taking backup aren't you?"

"Ruth." He kissed her lips chastely as her eyes fluttered closed. "Adam and Zaf will be there. Zaf is already there just checking everything. Beth and Zoe are going to be in the cafe opposite. Just because Andrew wants to trade doesn't mean he will be getting his own way, especially with Ros here running the floor."

She nodded as she tried to fight the panic that was building in the pit of her stomach. Harry smiled slightly as he pulled her into his arms. "Just be careful."

"When am I not? Ruth, I've got too much to live for to be an idiot. You know that."

"Um." She pulled back and touched his face before pulling him down into a kiss which turned from chaste to passionate in seconds. Harry gripped her waist and held her to him as he tried to pour all his emotions into that few moments before he had to return to the Grid.

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Ros was livid. Not only did she have a hole in her leg she also had to pretend to be dead. She glared at Beth as the blonde walked towards her workstation.

"You know the plan?" Ros watched as the newest member of the team nodded.

"Ros, we have been over this a million times. Harry goes up the block of flats as expected by Lawrence. Zoe and I stay in the cafe opposite watching for any sign of Tariq. Adam, Dimitri and Zaf will be at various vantage points. Any sign that Tariq is around and we get him back to the cafe where Gino will let us hide him in the back until Adam collects us. If Harry becomes compromised Dimitri and or Zaf will take him out. If they are unable to Zoe and I will neutralise the threat." Beth watched as Ros nodded.

"I thought the plan was to get Harry and Tariq back with no casualties." Malcolm stated.

"It is." Ros watched as Malcolm nodded. "You have the plans for the building?"

"Yes." Malcolm watched as Beth and Ros waited for the computer to show the 1960's Tower block in schematic. "Here is the best place to enter the building should anyone have to go in after Harry." He pointed at the screen.

"Ok." Ros sat and glared at the computer. "Ok, the aim of this is to get all the team back here. I want Andrew Lawrence in the Interview Room. I'll lead the interview with Zaf. I'd like to see his face when he realises I'm alive and kicking."

"That I'd pay to see." Beth smiled as the Pods whooshed open to reveal Lucas.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The rain had given way to early spring sunshine as Harry waited on the roof of the tower block. He looked out over the city trying to calm the nerves that had built in his stomach since he had left the Grid. He knew he was probably going to be killed but there was no way he was going to admit it in front of Ruth, although by the look in her eyes he had the feeling she had worked it out. He closed his eyes as he thought about his children. Catherine had agreed to stay in his house with the pets and wait for Graham to call. He thought of his son alone in a foreign country where he couldn't look out for him, for little Charlie who had just worked out how to walk and then there was Nico. The boy that had been a son to Ruth during her exile. The child she had silently grieved for just as much as she had for Chloe. He closed his eyes and wondered what would become of them should Andrew Lawrence kill him. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to drag his thoughts back to the matter in hand.

"Sir?" A decidedly female voice spoke to him. The shock of hearing her almost caused him to fall over the edge before Andrew Lawrence had even arrived.

"Hello."

"This wont be long. Hope you have a plan." Jo teased.

"Yes. Thankyou."

"Good, because if you even think of leaving Ruth a widow..." Jo's voice took on a warning tone.

"Why are you haunting me Joanna?" Harry snapped as he realised how ridiculous he sounded.

"Ruth is my friend. I might be dead but that doesnt change. Once you asked me to speak to her now I'm talking to you." Jo loved how she could be as blunt as she wanted. There was no need to worry if Harry would have her stationed to Outer Mongolia or Siberia. She was dead, she wasn't going to be stationed anywhere.

"Tariq?"

"Adam picked him up a couple of minutes ago. He's safe. I think he's talking to Malcolm now."

"Thank God."

"That just leaves you. You really should open your eyes now." Jo spoke calmly as Harry frowned.

"Joanna."

"You don't remember do you?" Jo knew she was only able to appear to Harry if he was deeply unconscious. He was too rationale, just like Ruth. She had always found it easier to talk to Zaf but right now it wasn't Zaf that needed her.

"What?"

"You are not on the roof of the tower anymore. Andrew was on time. He held you at gunpoint and argued. You stepped towards him, I think you were trying to get more information or playing for time. He hit you across the head with the gun. You said if he was going to shoot you then he could look you in the eye as he did it. By the time Zaf and the girls arrived Ros was screaming at you to respond down the comms as you lay bleeding on the floor. No sign of Lawrence." Jo watched as her boss took in the information.

"Did he shoot me?"

"No." Jo smiled as he raised an eyebrow. "Hit you bloody hard though. You are currently on route to A&E. Wake up Harry. There are too many people relying on you. Since Ruth got back you actually have a life. It's going to be worth sticking around for, especially with the new arrival." She beamed as he shook his head.

"Nico."

"Yes, him. He's a lovely kid but until you wake up there's no way of knowing is there? No way of knowing how much you are going to be needed. And not just with Charlie and the three kids." She smiled. "Don't give up on the dream Harry, just because Ruth has." Harry nodded as he felt something grip his hand. When he looked back Jo was gone.

"Harry. Open your eyes. You promised me." Ruth tried not to cry as Harry squinted in the harsh hospital light.

"I keep my promises." He muttered as Ruth shook her head and smiled. Tariq was back and Andrew was missing but at that moment nothing else mattered to Ruth. Harry was with her. She smiled sadly as she felt him grip her hand.

"Glad to hear it Harry." She whispered before leaning forward to kiss his heavily bandaged forehead. "Glad to hear it."

**A/N Please review. I know reviews seem to have dropped for a few people but reviews = faster updates. I know this chapter may seem a little wierd but I didn't want to write any violence graphically and I wanted to get Jo in here somewhere. Did it work? Please let me know what you think.**


	20. Promises Made

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. Thank you for all the lovely reviews. **

**Promises Made.**

Tariq didn't realise he was physically shaking until he was stood in the lift taking him back to the Grid. He knew Ros and Malcolm were there waiting for them all and that Harry was in A&E with Ruth. He closed his eyes as he felt Beth stare at him. She rested a hand on his wrist as he closed his eyes and swallowed hard.

"You ok?" She stared at him as he nodded.

"Yeah." His voice shakier than it sounded. "Any news on Harry?"

"I've text Ruth." Dimitri explained. "He's tougher than he looks." He smiled slightly. "She said he has a cut on his forehead that needed stitches and because he was out of it for a while they scanned his head. Apparently they found a brain."

"Dimitri!" Zoe shook her head.

"What?" Dimitri smiled cheekily. "I know he's the boss but what is he playing at? Confronting a nutter with a gun at his age."

"Do not let Ruth hear you say that." Adam glared at the wall opposite as the lift carried them upwards towards the fifth floor. He still couldn't get the sound of Ros demanding Harry answer his comms out of his head or the way Ruth had demanded to know what had happened as he called for medical back up. The sight of his friend laying still on the roof in front of him with no sign of Andrew Lawrence made him feel sick. All he knew was he wanted to find Lawrence and ask his what the Hell he thought he was playing at. He looked across at the youngest member of the team who looked more withdrawn and quiet than any of them could ever remember.

"It'll be ok." Adam stated as Tariq nodded.

"Yeah." He felt Beth grip his hand as he waited for the lift doors to open.

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Ros watched the computer screen as Lucas passed a mug of coffee to Malcolm. He was quieter than either of them remembered him. Ros bit her bottom lip as she tried not to wince. Her leg wound was still stinging at times. She stared at the CCTV footage Malcolm had somehow miraculously pieced back together. It was then she realised how close they had come to loosing both the Section Head and the newest techi. She shook her head slightly as her blonde hair fell into her eyes.

"You did well with this Malcolm." She sipped her own black coffee as Malcolm nodded.

"Basic CCTV footage. Took a while, it may be useful."

"Yes, well I just hope there isn't any CCTV where we are taking you Saturday night." Lucas teased as Malcolm shook his head.

"I am not having a Stag Party. Not now. It doesn't seem right." He sighed.

"Yes it does. Harry and Tariq are going to be fine and there is every chance we will catch up with Andrew Lawrence sooner rather than later." Lucas watched as Malcolm nodded.

"I'd prefer it if it were sooner." Ros deadpanned. "Oh and don't you two think just because you are having a stag party Sarah isn't having a Hen Night." She watched as both men turned to her in horror. Neither Ruth nor Ros had had the traditional pre wedding night out but it had been decided Sarah would. Ros couldn't help but smirk.

"Who organised it? Please tell me it was someone sensible like Ruth." Lucas watched as Malcolm turned back to the screen. He didn't want to think about what may happen with his fiance and the women of Section D.

"I could. But I'd be lying." Ros turned as the Pod doors whooshed open to allow Dimitri, Zoe and Adam access to the Grid.

"Beth has taken Tariq up to medical for a check up." Zoe explained as she walked across to her desk. "Any sign of him?"

"Good." Ros folded her arms as Dimitri and Adam sat down. "Where's Zaf?"

"Catherine called, looking for her Dad so he's giving her and Charlie a lift to the hospital. Graham is away at the moment." Zoe explained.

"Right." Ros folded her arms. She couldn't help but smile. She knew exactly where Graham was and why. "When you speak to him tell him to head back here. You were all there. Lucas, Malcolm and I were watching everything here. Where the hell is Andrew Lawrence?"

"Damned if I know." Adam spat. He was clearly very angry. He stared at a spot on Beth's desk. Ros wondered for a moment if he would actually be able to bore holes in to the surface of the small desk wedged between Zaf's and Adam.

"As of now Andrew Lawrence is a suspect. He is to be approached with extreme caution." Ros spoke loudly so that the rest of the team had no doubt what she was saying. "If he makes another attempt to contact anyone from the Grid we do not go anywhere near him without CO19 with us. I'll clear it with Towers." Ros tried her best to march towards Harry's office as her leg screamed in protest at the movement. Lucas shrugged as Malcolm met his eyes. Both men were worried about the Section Chief.

"I'll talk to her." Malcolm nodded as Lucas pushed himself away from the desk and walked towards the office. He walked straight in as Ros looked up.

"It isn't just Ruth that will have to get a cow bell at this rate." She turned her head back to the file she had opened and hoped Lucas got the hint. Harry and Tariq had been injured on her watch. Lucas had been hurt and Ruth was probably an emotional wreck, again. She didn't need to be made to feel anymore guilty, she just couldn't shake thoughts of Jo as she looked through the file, even though Jo had died before Nightingale had ever really made it's presence felt.

"You shouldn't be in work. You can barely walk." Lucas leant in the doorway as Ros finally looked up.

"Pot. Kettle. Black." She glared as Lucas nodded.

"I know. I know." He stepped towards her. "I'm worried about you."

"Don't be." She smiled slightly as her voice softened a touch. "I can do my job."

"I know. I didn't say I was worried about your ability to do the job. I am worried about you. Andrew Lawrence set you up. Set us all up. First tried to sell Ruth and I and then. Then the bastard had you shot. You saved his life twice."

"Makes you wonder why I bothered." Ros met his eyes as he smiled slightly. "Oh yeah, the job description."

"Bugger the job description Ros. I know how close you two were, how close he wanted you to be before the first hotel bomb." He stepped into the office.

"Nothing happened." She smiled as he raised her eyebrow. "I was off office romances back then."

"And now?" Lucas watched as she touched his black shirt.

"Now things are slightly different. You think that's why he set me up? Because he blames me for not getting him out of the hotel in time? Lucas, he would have known Section D would have been all over the trade conference. He would have known I would have a team there. It may have been a bonus for him that scumbag Wells was there. Lee Wong turned up in one of Ruth's searches earlier. He was in Basel but under the name Jo Chan. Never picked up before." Ros warmed to her theme. "I think he saw a chance to exploit the situation and told Mai who Ruth was. It's a wonder none of us have been killed."

"You think all this is revenge?" Lucas watched as Ros stared at the carpet. Her mind reeling as she tried to make sense of what she was saying herself.

"No, not all of it." She flicked her eyes up to Lucas' "That was just a bonus. He always seemed very anti Nightingale. Even telling Harry to go after them when the woman filling in for him told us to back off."

"Best place to hide in plain sight." Lucas touched her hand as she smiled.

"Exactly." Ros nodded. "You know something? I think he will try to make contact again."

"He's going to call you."

"Lucas, he thinks I'm dead."

"I don't think so. I think he knows the routine. He may not have known you would wear a vest or that Ruth would but he may have had a back up plan just in case. This is far from over."

"And to think he gave us his word. He promised we would have his full backing to go after Nightingale with all the force necessary." Ros ran a hand through her blonde hair. The pain in her leg all forgotten as Lucas took her hand and thread his fingers through his.

"There's more at stake now. Nightingale don't have the support in the UK they once did but someone is bankrolling them." Ros nodded. She wished Ruth and Harry were back but knew they were waiting for the results of his scan before being discharged. She closed her eyes as she felt Lucas tighten his hold on her hand. It was all the contact she would ever allow on the Grid.

"Mace is dead. But he had friends in low places." Ros shook her head. "Wonder what stones they crawled under. Fancy turning a few of those stones over?"

"I'd be up for that." Lucas smiled as the Pod doors opened to let Tariq and Beth back on to the Grid.

xxxxxxxxxxx

"Ok." Catherine settled into the front seat of the car next to Zaf. "What has he done this time?"

Zaf had instantly liked the blonde. He smiled slightly as he started the engine. He had to admit it felt strange to have the daughter and grandson of his boss in his car. He had known Catherine for years and had watched as her relationship with her father had slowly improved. He wondered how much of that was down to Ruth. Everyone knew her and Graham had gone to Exeter to be with her at her mother's funeral.

"What did Ruth tell you?"

"That Dad was in work and he got hurt. That's all. Is he badly hurt?" She cursed herself for sounding so scared but she was.

"He was hit. On the head. I didn't find him, Adam did." Zaf explained. "I think he gave Adam a bit of a fright."

"Shit." She turned and looked out of the window as they headed towards the hospital. "Ruth?"

"What do you think?" Zaf raised his eyebrow as Charlie began babbling along with the adults.

"Oh God." Catherine wiped a tear away from her eyes. It was then she realised how bad things could have been, and Graham was on the other side of the world with Nico. Zaf pulled the car over as they reached the car park.

"None of this." Zaf handed her a tissue. "Harry is a strong man. He has had worse than this. You know that."

"I know. I just wish Graham was here."

"Lucky sod getting to go to Cyprus." Zaf smiled.

"How do you know?" Catherine's eyes widened.

"My sister, Clare. She's a social worker, she specialises in adoption and adoption from overseas. Harry asked me to get in touch with her. I explained the situation to her and she has been helping Harry with the legal side of things. It's going to be ok." Zaf watched as Catherine shook her head and smiled.

"Only you would have a sister who specialises in this stuff." She half laughed. "So it'll be straightforward? Nico will be allowed to live with Ruth and Dad?"

"Clare seems to think so. Nico knows Ruth already. They had a good relationship. Both have good jobs and with you and Graham living nearby they have emotional and practical support. And Ruth knows she has me whenever she needs me." Zaf smiled as Catherine looked relieved.

"Yeah. And if anyone else said that they'd have my Dad green with jealousy." She watched as Zaf pretended to look offended.

"You know she's the sister I never had. And I have two sisters." He laughed as they prepared to leave the car. Charlie held his arms up for Catherine to pick him up as she opened the back door of the car.

"Mamma"

"Oh come here you." Catherine picked her son up and followed her friend into the hospital.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry suddenly realised what it was like to be hit by a truck. His head throbbed and he was beginning to wonder if he was ever going to be allowed to go home. Ruth looked more withdrawn and thoughtful than ever as she returned to where she had been sat a few moments before.

"Ok, am I dying? Because I had better be if this is the response I'm getting from you." He teased slightly as Ruth looked up at him. Tears swam in her eyes.

"No." Ruth shook her head slightly. "Not this time."

"Good." Harry watched as a nurse walked into the room with painkillers both of them knew he would convieniently forget to take.

"Mr Pearce. You can go." Mike stood in the corner of the room as Ruth fell silent. "You have three visitors outside. One is distracting my nurses."

"Zaf." Ruth and Harry smiled as they imagined the cheeky field officer flirting with the nursing staff.

"No, this distraction is decidedly smaller and is appealing to the male as well as female members of my team. Now if you wouldn't mind going home and getting some rest I may be able to get them back to work." Dr Barrett handed Ruth a card about Head Injuries, knowing she had taken at least a half dozen of them home with her over the last few years. "Oh and happy anniversary."

"Thanks." Harry answered as Ruth closed her eyes.

"How?"

"Your daughter mentioned that you had managed to get yourselves hospitalised a year ago today, on your wedding day." Mike smiled. "Try to give a trip to A&E a miss next year."

"We will." Ruth answered as Harry took her hand. "Can I take him home?" She watched as the doctor nodded.

"By all means."

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Graham decided he liked Cyprus. It was sunny, it was hot and it was far away from anything remotely chaotic. He wondered briefly what sort of mission had led to Ruth having to live on the mediterrainian island for so long. He had to admit that it was a brilliant place to hide if you didn't want to be found. It was then he realised. Ruth hadn't been working undercover, she had been hiding. He shook his head as he walked towards the orphanage. He couldn't help but smile as he saw the young dark haired boy sat on the front door step.

"Are you Graham?" He stood and stared as Graham nodded. The austere figure of a nun stood behind him. Graham nodded as the nun held out her hand.

"This is Nico. As I am sure you know, please let's get inside out of this heat and we can talk." She turned and walked inside as Nico shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

"Did you bring photos? Is Ruth ok? Does she know I'm coming? Is it true you have a dog? I always wanted a dog. Does it really rain all the time?" Nico was full of questions as Graham met the nun's eyes.

"Yes loads, yes she does. Yes she's called Scarlett. And two cats, Muggles and Fidget. And only most of the time." He answered as the nun smiled back. For a moment Graham couldn't help but loose himself in the nun's green eyes. _She's a nun. A NUN. Stop it! _Graham returned his attention to the small boy, unaware the nun was thinking similar things to him.

"That's great isn't it? Sister Mary? Isn't it?"

"Yes Nico." Sister Mary smiled as she watched them both together. "Now, come on Mother Superior is waiting."

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Tariq had headed straight home after being debriefed about what had happened. He had briefly thought of heading to the George with Dimitri and Adam and getting so drunk he forgot his own name but sense had prevailed and he had asked Malcolm to take him home. Now he was laid on his bed staring at the ceiling. He knew his father and little sister had been aware something was different about him but Sunita and Masood had been kind enough not to press him on it. His mother had seemed oblivious and for that he was grateful. He closed his eyes and prayed for sleep to hurry up.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruth brushed her hair angrily as she waited for Harry to join her in the bedroom. She was glad Catherine and Zaf had collected them from the hospital. SHe smiled slightly as she realised the doctor had been right. Charlie had charmed the staff of the A&E department but she was glad to get them all out of there. Throwing the hairbrush on the dressing table she slipped into bed as she tried to fight the unexplicable anger that was rising in her stomach. It was only when Harry slipped into bed beside her that she realised she was angry with him. She turned on her side and faced away from him as he rested a hand on her waist and kissed her neck.

"Ruth."

"Go to sleep Harry."

"What is it?"

"You stupid, stupid man." Ruth glared at the wall as his hand froze. "You could have been killed."

"I wasn't"

"Harry. Do not joke with me about this." Her voice broke as she berated him. She pushed his hand away from her. Hurt and confused Harry touched her shoulder, pulling his hand back as it if was on fire when he realised it was the shoulder still healing from earlier in the day.

"I'm sorry." His voice was low. Calm. Ruth rolled on to her other side so she could see him.

"Are you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Ruth." He wasn't really sure what he was appolising for. He hated seeing her so upset.

"I could be a widow now. I could." She looked away as tears swam in her eyes. Harry cursed. She wasn't angry. She was scared. Terrified. "Harry. I could have lost you." She almost whispered as he touched her face.

"I know." He wiped a tear away with his thumb as her eyes fell closed. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Appology accepted." Ruth sighed as he moved closer to her. "Just don't do it again."

"I told you I keep my promises." He kissed her gently as her eyes opened.

"Promise?"

"To be careful."

"Oh, well no more meeting mad men with guns on rooftops." Ruth touched his face as he nodded and kissed her again.

"I promise."

**A/N ooh long chapter. Oh and as I am sure you know I know nothing about adoption procedures. Nico's return is all poetic licence. Please review. Changes made, as there were a few mistakes. Please let me know what you think.**


	21. Promises Broken

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. Thank you for all the lovely reviews and for those who told me not to give up on this nonsense!**

**Promises Broken?**

Ruth stared at the computer screen, aware that she was the only one on the Grid. The CCTV footage Malcolm had painstakingly put together was playing on her computer as she stared at every milisecond on the screen, trying to see what they had missed at the time. _What she had missed. There has to be something. I'm the analyst. I should have seen this before the others._ Ruth stopped the footage and sent it back to the beginning again.

"Ruth, how many times have you watched that?" Ros placed a coffee on the edge of her desk.

"A thousand." Ruth didn't take her eyes off the screen. "Why didn't we see it before?"

"That's what the tabloids are asking." Ros spat. She had no time for the gutter press, even though she knew Adam had various assets at Fleet Street.

"What?" Ruth jabbed the stop button before turning back to her friend.

"The red tops. Explosions should have been avoided. MI 5 failure. Makes me sick, all the work we do and they have no idea what goes on behind the scenes. It would blow their tiny little minds if they knew what we do on a daily basis." Ros folded her arms.

"Yes." Ruth had to agree. "Perhaps it's better if they don't. It sells papers though."

"Yes, never let the truth get in the way of a good story." Ros rolled her eyes as Malcolm arrived.

xxxxxxxxx

Towers was not impressed. MI 5 had been the subject on most of the tabloid front pages since the hotel explosion. That combined with a shoot out on a West London street meant the service was not exactly as secret as he would have liked it to be. He glared at the solid mahogany desk in front of him as Sophie tapped the door and walked into the room.

"Sir?"

"Morning Sophie." He glared as she placed a coffee on his desk.

"Sir Harry is here to see you."

"He's late!" Towers bellowed.

"I know Sir. Traffic. Apparently since the explosion they whole street is off limits. Shall I send him in?" Towers nodded, for one moment wondering what it was about Harry that got women defending him so easily. He knew his young secretary would not be defending him so readily.

"Yes, yes send him in." She smiled tightly and walked out of the room before closing the door.

"He sounds like he is in a good mood." Harry smiled as Sophie let out a breath.

"Yeah." She rolled her eyes. "He's been on the phone to the DG of MI5 and MI6 for the last hour. God only knows why."

"Looking for my replacement I dare say." Sophie looked horrified.

"At 6?"

"Thought the Vampires at Vauxhall Square had enough to deal with goading the Foreign Secretary to start bothering with us. Anyway, lets find out what I have done wrong this week." He returned her smile before walking into the office.

"Harry."

"Home Secretary."

"Have you located your errant officer yet?"

"Tariq Masood was recovered alive last night." Harry was glad at least that had turned out well, although he was worried about the youngest member of his team. He would never tell William Towers how close they had come to another death. He knew the tight knit team were barely recovered from the death of Jo. Even the newer members of the team like Beth and Dimitri knew something had been lost, even if they had no idea what.

"Good." Towers smiled slightly. "And your other officers?"

"Lucas remains in plaster, although we are hopeful the doctor will see fit to remove that in the next few days so he can be back on active duty. Ros returned to work straight after her discharge from hospital. Ruth remains on the Grid."

"I see." Towers watched as Harry fell silent. "And is there any news on my predecessor?"

"Andrew Lawrence remains at large, although I see that as only a blip. Home Secretary. He know how powerful Nightingale were. He took it upon himself to develop a relationship with both Mai Su Yung and Lee Wong as well as Robert Wells." Harry almost spat the last name, he wasn't sure if Towers noticed.

"Two of which are now dead."

"Yes. Wells shot Wong before shooting himself." Harry paused. "Sir, if there is anything you may be able to tell us about the Chinese woman who died or the Chinese delegation as a whole it would be helpful."

"Maria Chen was murdered as you know. The Embassy would like her killer returned."

"So it was Mai who killed her then." Harry stated rather than asked. It was the one thing Mai hadn't confessed to.

"So it seems. Look Harry, this situation has to be resolved. Preferably without me having to explain to the Prime Minister why MI 5 have made front page news. Is it not enough that I have to counterance that idiot from 6 and the Foreign Secretary giving me grief? Find Andrew Lawrence Harry. Stop all this."

"Yes Sir. That is what we were trying to do."

"Ah yes." Towers looked at Harry properly for the first time since he entered the room. "I see he got the better of you."

"Temporary glitch." Harry narrowed his eyes as he answered him. His voice was dangerously calm, he couldn't help but smile slightly knowing how Andrew Lawrence had once flinched when he had used the same tone of voice. "I assure you Home Secretary, temporary glitch."

"See that it is." Harry nodded and walked out the room, wondering what would happen to Section D if they didn't resolve the temporary glitch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"He can't have just disappeared." Zoe ran a hand through her mousy hair as the frustration became evident in her voice.

"No sign of him at any of his usual haunts." Tariq answered. He was glad to be back at work. "Just wish I'd been able to stick a bug on him."

"Tariq, you were held hostage. There was no way you could have done that." Dimitri clapped him on the shoulder. "Pub tonight, yeah?" Tariq nodded as Zaf swivelled his chair to face the younger man.

"Hold on." He wheeled his chair over to Tariq's computer. Pressing a few keys he smiled.

"What?" Tariq turned to him.

"I know you couldn't bug him but I bugged her. When Christine was in a few days back. I did the whole tea and sympathy routine. Sorry but I don't fall for the whole damsel in distress routine." Ros smiled as Zaf explained how he had placed a bug in her jacket and one in her handbag before she had left.

"You decided to tell us this now?" Ros smirked as Zaf shrugged.

"Because now everyone is alive I can think straight." He deadpanned as Ros nodded.

"Ok, where is she?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Christine Dale had lived in London intermittently since she had got the job as CIA Liasion officer to MI5. She had loved the city for years. Now she wasn't so sure her second home had the place in her heart it once did. Walking along Oxford Street she ignored the girl selling the Big Issue and walked past the man tying his shoe laces. Adam shook his head. Christine had been a trained spook, married to one of 5's former Section Chiefs and she had missed two of the oldest methods of observation in the book. He finished tying his laces and began to follow her as the cyclist ahead stopped at the lights. He smiled slightly as he walked infront of Dimitri.

"I have eyeball." Beth whispered as she put the magazines back on the step, knowing the real seller would be back in minutes.

"Heading towards me." Dimiri stated as he rode through the traffic lights. The bus blaring it's horn made him glad the Mayor had promoted cycle lanes.

"Team two." Ruth spoke through the comms. "Do you see the target?"

"Yes base." Zaf answered as he saw her walk past him and head towards the cafe.

"Leave her." Adam instructed. "We need to see where she goes."

"Affirmative." Ros answered. She was enjoying being back in the field. She stayed a few feet behind Christine as the crowds seemed to disperse slightly. She tugged her jacket towards her aware that if Christine spotted her she would instantly be recognised. She closed her eyes for a second as she realised that had just happened. Christine dropped her handbag and began running. Ros cursed the pain in her leg as she heard Lucas and Adam shout in her earpiece. She had no choice but to run after her, knowing her stitches would probably burst under the impact of running in boots. She heard Lucas state Zoe was around the corner while Dimitri was only a few feet away. Zaf headed towards the car, knowing that Ros now had to make the arrest and get Christine back to Thames House. Ros grabbed Christine by her blonde ponytail and kicked her ankle out from underneath her, causing the blonde to hit the pavement on both knees.

"Not a word." Ros pinned the woman to the floor as an elderly woman approached.

"Do you need a hand dear?"

"No thanks." Ros smiled up as she spotted Adam's mother of all people had been in Oxford Street. "Ambulance is on the way. I'm a nurse."

"Ok." Eleanor Carter smiled slyly as Ros lied to her. She knew exactly what was happening. "If you're sure my dear." Eleanor winked as Zaf pulled the car up. He cursed as he realised he had parked in a bus lane. Ruth would have to help him escape another fine.

"In." Ros instructed Christine as she pulled her to her feet. Christine saw her chance.

"Help!" She yelled at the old woman. "I'm being abducted."

"No dear." Eleanor shook her head. "It looks like you have been arrested. Say hello to young Harry for me." Before turning and walking away.

"What?" Christine turned as Zaf pulled the car away. "You people!"

"Time to tell the truth Christine. And I warn you, after the week I have just had you really don't want to risk telling me a lie." Ros glared as Zaf drove along in silence.

"I am an American citizen. You cannot do this."

"We all have our crosses to bare." Ros spoke calmly. Full Ice Queen mode. "I am doing this and I can. Christine Dale I am arresting you in accordance with the 2008 Anti Terrorism Act. Hope you have a bloody good lawyer."

Christine glared as Ros spoke. She had promised Andrew it would all work out. That it would all be for the best. She just couldn't quite believe what was happening in front of her.

"You have no idea." She sighed.

"You'll get your chance to talk." Ros almost spat the words.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Malcolm handed Ruth what had to be her fifth coffee of the day. She was exhausted, worried about Harry. Worried about Nico and Graham and she still felt sick. She took the mug gratefully from her friend as he sat next to her.

"Ruth, you are awfully pale."

"Nothing a good night sleep wont fix." She smiled a little. Malcolm nodded. "And a good night out with the girls."

"Oh please not you too." He shook his head.

"Malcolm I have no idea what the boys have in store for you but I promise you all we are planning for Sarah is a few glasses of wine and a night at Adam's. Nothing too terrible." She smiled.

"Um, if you say so. Remember I've known you for too long. I know what you and Rosalind are like. Never mind if Beth and Zoe are involved." He shook his head as Beth walked through the Pods with Dimitri. She raised an eyebrow as she heard her name mentioned.

"Malcolm." Ruth rolled her eyes as she sipped her coffee.

"One very pissed off American in custody." Beth flopped in the chair next to Malcolm. "You put this back together?" She pointed at the CCTV.

"Yes." Malcolm nodded as the image of Robert Wells talking to Andrew Lawrence flooded the screen. He glanced across to where Ruth had been sitting. She'd gone.

**A/N So what will Christine say when Ros gets her in the interview room? What will Harry say and where is Ruth? Why has she run away? More soon if anyone is interested. Please review.**


	22. I Hear Talk

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. Thank you for all the lovely reviews and for those who told me not to give up on this nonsense!**

**I Hear Talk.**

Harry nodded towards Stan as he entered Thames House. His visit to the Whitehall hadn't gone the way he had hoped. He knew Towers had been on their side during the now infamous inquiry but he couldn't help but think of the man as a buffoon. It was clear William Towers had no idea what was going on in the Intelligence Community and had no intention of finding out. Yet again, everything that was amiss in the world of Intelligence seemed to be his fault. Stan nodded as he watched another one of the Section Head's walk back in. It seemed a busier day than usual. He smiled as he realised it was only really the staff of Section D that bothered to speak to him. Harry approached the lift as he began to think about everything the Home Secretary had said.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Ruth stared at the tiled wall of the toilet cubicle as she fought the urge to be sick. It seemed an involuntary response every time she saw or heard her step brother. She closed her eyes and sank to the floor hoping that this time she would be left alone to pull herself together. She knew where Tariq had heard the rumours of her so called pregnancy from, although she had yet to confront Beth over it. Sighing heavily she rested her head on her knees and screwed her eyes shut. The more she thought about it the more she was certain she had seen Robert smile slightly, the same sly smile she remembered so well when she knew he was up to something. She opened her eyes and stared at the tiled wall as she thought about the footage objectively. She swore under her breath as she stood and knew she had to detach herself from the situation. "Do your job Ruth." She muttered to herself as she pushed herself up from the floor and headed towards the door.

xxxxxxxxxxx

"She's in custody." Ros stated as her and Adam stood in front of Harry's desk. He stared at them thinking about what he had just been told.

"Any sign of Lawrence?"

"Not as yet." Adam answered. "He can't have just vanished."

"No." Harry sighed. He had been left with the feeling if Nightingale were allowed to prevail there would be another man sat at his desk, that was if Section D survived at all. He knew officially the line would be cuts due to reduced funding. But it would be as a result of the Section's failure. Of _his_ failure.

"But let me have five minutes with her Harry. Then we release her without charge and watch her run back to loverboy." Ros smiled slyly as Adam tried to keep a straight face. _And who says women aren't as calculating as men? _He thought as Harry smiled slightly.

"Is that all we have?"

"No." Ros answered. "She knows where he is. He knows what Nightingale is doing. We find him, we take out the middle man."

"Fine." Harry looked past them towards Ruth's empty desk. He resisted the urge to ask where she was as Adam leant against the glass door.

"Right, well seeing as we have absolutely no other lead on where Andrew Lawrence had gone I suggest Adam and I have a chat with the lovely Christine." Ros turned and walked out of the office, trying to ignore the pain shooting through her leg. Harry shook his head as Adam stepped towards him.

"She left two minutes before you got here. Now she's left her bag and her jacket so I'm thinking she's indoors. Try the Ladies." Adam smiled as Harry nodded once.

"Thank you Adam."

Adam shook his head slightly knowing Ros was waiting for him. Harry returned to his computer, knowing that Adam was expecting more from him but he was in no mood to talk. He glanced briefly at the desk through the glass wall to where he knew Ruth should have been sat. He fought the urge to run from the office and look for her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ros walked across to where Malcolm was sat watching the CCTV footage from the hotel explosion. He shook his head slightly as Tariq rested his head on his hand and tried to keep his eyes open.

"Tariq, go home. Sleep." Ros stated as the bleary eyes of the technical officer met hers.

"I'm fine Boss."

"You don't look it."

"I'm like a shark. I never..."

"Tariq, if you balls this up because you are too tired to think straight." The warning tone was evident as he looked away. "Go. Get a coffee. Fresh air. See you in an hour, I will have something else for you, Ruth and Malcolm to work on. I'm telling you, not asking you."

Tariq nodded, got up and made his way towards the kitchenette.

"Not going anywhere without some caffiene." He grumbled as Ros smiled slightly. Malcolm met her eyes and smiled as Adam joined them.

"Thank you Ros. I don't think he is coping very well at the moment." Malcolm sighed.

"And he's not the only one." Ros raised an eyebrow as she looked towards Ruth's desk as Adam pulled on his jacket. "Oh you quite ready now then?" Ros glared before walking away. Malcolm couldn't help but smile, Ros may have the sharpest tongue of anyone he had ever met but he knew she also cared more than the rest of them really knew. It was the heart behind the ice that made her the best Section Chief he had ever worked for.

"Yes Ros." Adam wasn't quite sure what was happening but he knew he had missed something.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dimitri was glad he was out of the Grid for a while. The tension had been getting to him. He smiled slightly as he felt Beth take his hand.

"You ok?" She smiled as he nodded.

"This asset used to work for some bloke called Oliver Mace. Apparently this Mace bloke was well known to Section D, back in the day."

"I've heard the name." Beth sighed. Nothing she had heard about Mace had been positive. "Before, when I worked in the private sector his name came up. Nasty piece of work. I knew he was something to do with the Security Services." She hadn't the heart to tell him exactly what she had heard, but if Andrew Lawrence was involved in the same things she knew they were really in trouble.

"How nasty?"

"Beat Lucas to a pulp and left him for dead when he abducted Ruth type of nasty. And that's about the tamest I found when I went looking. Ros killed him." Beth shrugged her shoulders as Dimitri stood still.

"Ros killed him." He repeated as Beth shrugged.

"Do you ever read old files? You know research?"

"No, I leave that to you."

"Well I had noticed." She rolled her eyes. "Ruth was abducted ages ago. Apparently there was some bad blood between Ruth, Harry, Ros and Mace. He had some thug kidnap her and held her at gunpoint. Ros had no choice but to shoot him." She watched as Dimitri's jaw hung open. "This was before Harry and Ruth were married. So don't ask me what the previous business was but it wasn't good. All happened before Ruth went abroad undercover." She carried on walking as Dimitri absorbed what she said.

"And Mace was involved in Nightingale but now he's dead."

"You catch on quick." Beth shot him a smile as he rolled his eyes.

"So how does all this relate to Lawrence?"

"That is what I'm hoping this asset of yours will tell us. How do you want to play it?" Beth watched as his face lit up. A tall thin blonde woman walked out of the department store across the road. She rolled her eyes as she realised Dimitri had yet another asset that could have been a supermodel. She tried her best not to react to the pang of jealousy in the pit of her stomach.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Harry." Alec walked in to the office and sat down. Harry stopped what he was doing and stared at the man oppposite him.

"Alec."

"You have to stop thinking of this man as someone who needs help."

"He tried to kill my technical offier Alec, he also had his croanies shoot Ros and Ruth. I hardly think of him as some innocent." Harry glared.

"No" Alec paused "But you think he has been lead astray. After all he was the British Home Secretary. He was loyal to the UK for so long and he has helped you before."

"We've been through this."

"Yes." Alec paused. "He is a terrorist Harry. Pure and simple."

"Alec, in my experience terrorists are never pure and simple. We have a lead."

"Good." Alec paused. "I'm glad. Look I know Ros is going to talk to Christine Dale. Let me go with her. She's a liar Harry. Finding out liars is what I'm best at." Harry paused. He had asked Alec to work with them, he knew he couldn't obstruct him at every turn. He knew Ros would hate it.

"Ros is headed towards the Interview Rooms. If you go now you'll catch her." Harry turned away as Alec smiled.

"We will catch him. I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to make contact again." Harry nodded as Alec walked away.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruth almost ran to the records room in the Registry. She knew she had seen something, she just had no idea if it was significant. She ignored the incessant vibrating of her mobile phone, just pleased that she had put it on silent as she burst through the door.

"Claire?"

"Hiya Ruth, I pulled the files you wanted. EYES ONLY." Claire handed her the stack of A4 files. "Why don't you just get the e copy?"

"Thanks." Ruth took them gratefully. "You know what I'm like. I need to see the handwriting to get a feel of what I'm seeing." She smiled as the records clerk handed her a key.

"I know, but it's only you and Hannah from Section K that ever bother. You know these'll all end up on microfile before next Christmas?" Ruth nodded as she took the key.

"I know." She shrugged. "Right, unless world war 3 starts I'm in the back room." Ruth walked away hoping against hope she was going to find out what she was looking for and the reason why Andrew Lawrence was turning traitor. She also hoped to find out why the man she had believed had destroyed her life was back to haunt her.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Ruth." She almost spun on her heels as she heard her husband.

"You almost gave me a heart attack." She watched as he walked towards her. Subconsciously she began worrying the edge of the file as he smiled at her.

"Sorry."

"Harry, look I think I've found something." She watched as he waited. "I'm not exactly sure yet but I think there is something that links Christine Dale and Robert Wells. We know Lee Wong was in the meeting in Basel under an assumed name. What if, just what if she was there too? We already know Lawrence was, he addmitted that to us the first time this exploded in our faces."

"So what if she was?" Harry watched as Ruth took a deep breath.

"So it means she lied. It means when Tom was being blackmailed into trying to kill you she wasn't just the innocent victim we thought she was." Ruth watched as Harry glared at the floor. She knew Tom had killed Richard Dolby and tried to kill him but she knew he blamed himself for Tom Quinn getting killed. She knew he blamed himself for Tom ever going on the blink.

"She was the CIA's brightest and best."

"And as you told me once." Ruth smiled.

"You remember that conversation?" Harry stepped towards her.

Ruth blushed slightly. "Yes." She watched as he reached up and touched her hair. "On our bench, first time we talked properly. Outside of the Grid I mean. When you weren't trying to convince everyone you were such an ogre."

"Ruth." He watched as she stared at him. "I am worried about you."

"Don't be." She bit her bottom lip. "What harm can come to me here?"

Harry smiled sadly as he remembered the harm that had come to Ben Kaplin the month before Ruth had returned in the very room they were sat in. He remembered Jo telling him she would talk to Ben's mother and step father. He shook his head. There was no where really safe.

"Ruth, we said no more secrets."

"I know." She paused. "Look, I'm fine. It's just everytime I hear his name I feel sick. Everytime I see his face I feel like I can't breathe. It's ridiculous after all this time." She felt Harry take the files from her arms before he turned back to her.

"No, it isn't." He tilted her face up to meet his. "Look, Alec and Ros are interviewing Dale now."

"Together? That is something I'd like to see." She smiled.

"Well." He returned the smile, glad to see a little colour had returned to her cheeks. "Security haven't called me yet."

"That's something." Ruth jumped back as the doors to the reading room opened.

"Yes, Lucas." Harry turned to face the temporarily Grid bound spook.

"You are wanted upstairs. All hell just broke loose." Lucas stated before turning and leading Ruth and Harry back to the Grid.

**A/N what has Ruth found in the files? Is Lucas exaggerating? More Fluff and more from Zaf, Zoe and the others next time. Please review, even if you hate it!**


	23. Chaos Theory

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Chaos Theory**

Harry nodded once before he caught Ruth's eyes. She had the sort of look mothers had when their children were beginning to annoy them. He smiled slightly before ushering her out of the reading room in the direction Lucas was already headed. He had no idea why all Hell had broken loose and what that actually entailed but he knew that if Lucas was worried after everything he had been though it wasn't anything good.

"Ruth." Claire stopped them as they got to the door. "Those files. EYES ONLY. You can't take them to the Grid."

"Oh right, yes. Sorry." Ruth handed them back as Harry rolled his eyes. She had completely forgotten they were in her arms. She hurried out of the department as Harry and Lucas made their way towards the Grid.

xxxxxxxxx

Alec was loathe to admit but he was slightly intimidated by Ros. He stepped back as Christine pushed her chair back from the desk and began screaming at the Section Chief, protesting her innocence. She slammed her fists down on the table as Ros remained silent. Alec smirked, the nickname of Ice Queen seemed more apt than ever.

"Sit down." Ros stared at the irate blonde in front of her.

"I will not sit down!"

"Where is Andrew Lawrence?" Ros stood and held her gaze. Her voice calm and quiet as Christine screamed in frustration.

"I told you. I don't know where he is."

"We both know that is a lie." Ros' voice was cold, devoid of all emotion. "And we both know you have a habit of lying to protect the men in your life." Christine looked away as Alec smirked. He liked Ros. He knew she was as cold and calculating as he could be when needed. He just knew she had Christine on the run and there was no way the blonde american was getting away.

"You bitch!" Christine spat.

"Yeah." Ros smirked as she walked around the table. Alec was about to speak up but spotted the look from Ros and fell silent. "Thing is though Christine, I'd say the fact your husband shot my boss and left Andrew to die was bad luck. Now your current boyfriend has kidnapped my friend and believes he has shot me and Ruth is a bit bloody foolhardy on your part. You really know how to pick them Chris."

"Yeah, bad luck with relationships." Alec smirked.

"You have no idea."

"No." Ros agreed. "No but you see I didn't like Tom Quinn. You know that and so does everyone else. I thought Tom Quinn was so in love with himself if he was chocolate he'd have eaten himself. Andrew on the other hand."

"This is jealousy. Tom was a better Section Chief than you could ever hope to be." Alex shot Ros a look wondering what she was going to do now. The blonde had already knelt next to the American.

"Maybe. Maybe you are right. But then however much Harry pisses me off I've managed not to shoot him." Ros smiled slyly and got to her feet. "Christine I am going to say this once. You are still legally an American citizen. You tell me where Andrew Lawrence is or I will have no choice but to charge you with aiding and abetting a terrorist and with perverting the course of justice. If the US Embassy want you back after that I will have no choice but to assist in your extradiction." Ros walked back to where Alec was sitting as he leant on the table.

"If I were you luv, I'd be singing like a canary."

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Catherine paced the living room as Charlie slept. She had been back in work for six weeks but had taken the day off to wait for her brother to call, knowing that her father and Ruth may not be available when Graham rang. She had a feeling whatever they were working on was pretty intense. Ruth had been looking more tired than ever while her father seemed mentally exhausted and snapped at the most ridiculous things. She just hoped that whatever it was had been dealt with before Graham and Nico got home. She ran a hand through her short blonde hair as she ignored the letter from her mother's prison and prayed the phone would ring. She was desperately worried that Graham would get in to trouble without her or Harry to keep an eye on him. She almost jumped out of her skin as the phone erupted into life.

"Hello."

"Sis, you ok?" Graham laughed as Catherine swore at him. "Oi, you kiss my nephew with that mouth!"

"Gray! Are you ok? Please tell me you haven't done something stupid?"

"Oh thanks for the vote of confidence Catherine."

"Sorry." She winced. He sounded genuinely hurt. "Look, I went to the orphanage this morning. Now I'm in a B&B. Why Ruth ever left Cyprus I'll never know. It's gorgeous."

"Yeah, and?"

"And Dad isn't answering the phone. Neither is Ruth and I tried Uncle Malcolm. He's busy so you sister dearest are the only person I can get hold of."

"Yeah I know. Something is happening. I've been told to stay home and not let anyone in until Dad and Ruth get back."

"That's why you didn't answer the flat phone then." Graham sighed. For a moment he wondered what he was bringing the little boy back to. Nico had been through so much. He smiled as he remembered the enthusiastic questioning from the child.

"So?"

"Oh yeah. Well Nico is fine. Seems now both his biological parents are dead and his grandparents there really is no one to take him and his aunt trusted Ruth enough to put it in her will. Seems his aunt knew Ruth quite well. Worked with her over here when Ruth was undercover. So Nico knows her, says she lived with their family for a while, that she knew his father."

"We knew that." Catherine didn't like the tone of voice Graham was using when he mentioned Ruth. "She was gone for three years Gray. From what I can gather no one knew if she'd ever be able to come home. She must have been lonely."

"And Dad wasn't?" Graham was rarely defensive of his father but he was now.

"Yeah, of course he was but he was at home with friends, colleagues and us. Well me. She was on her own in a strange country. Totally on her own. Don't judge her. And from what else I can gather Nico's dad wasn't the nice doctor everyone seems to think he was." Catherine couldn't help but jump to Ruth's defense.

"Anyway." Graham decided to head the conversation back on to more neutral ground. "Nico is a nice kid. The Mother Superior spoke to Zaf's sister and aslong as he settles well with us the adoption should be ok. He's asked loads of questions. I promised I'd go back to the orphanage tomorrow after breakfast. He wants to call Ruth. Can you make sure she answers the phone? About 12:30 UK time? We should both be on the plane home the next day." Graham listened as his sister promised she would have Ruth next to the phone. He smiled slightly. Sometimes it was nice to be the one who was the responsible one.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Pod doors opened too slowly for Harry's liking. He could see half his team were present and the Grid seemed to be in a state of panic. He almost ran down the steps to the main Grid floor as Zaf threw something towards Adam.

"Mate, have a look at this." Zaf yelled as Adam approached him.

"Right, get Ros and Alec up here." Adam called as Zoe picked up the phone to contact Ros. "Get Dimitri and Beth back here too."

"Adam!" Harry yelled as Ruth made her way towards Tariq and Malcolm. "ADAM!"

"Oh Harry. We have an issue."

"You do surprise me." Harry sighed. "Andrew Lawrence has been located I imagine."

"Yeah"

"And?" Harry watched as Ruth leant over Tariq's shoulder and began tapping the keyboard on his computer.

"Oh my God." Ruth muttered. Harry glanced at her as the colour once again drained from her cheeks. Harry was about to ask her what the problem was when he became aware of Lucas on the phone. He turned to watch the dark haired spook lean against Dimitri's desk and close his eyes.

"Ros is on the way back." Zoe replied as she replaced the handset. "Why do I feel sorry for Christine Dale at the moment?" Ruth smiled slightly.

"Lucas?" Zoe turned to see him swear as he cradled his broken arm.

"That was Dimitri."

"IS SOMEONE GOING TO TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING!" Harry barked as the Grid momentarily fell silent.

"Andrew Lawrence called. He asked for Tariq." Zoe started as Ruth closed her eyes. "He asked when Ros and Ruth's funerals were."

"Oh shit." Ros snapped as she walked back on the Grid beside Alec. He perched on the edge of Malcolm's desk as Malcolm shot him a dirty look. Harry pinched his nose.

"I traced the call." Malcolm spoke calmly. "He's still in London but the mobile he is on is unregistered. A Pay As You Go bought in an independant shop in West London three hours ago."

"So where is he now?" Ruth looked around as Lucas glared at the floor.

"With Beth and Dimitri. He wants Christine released or he will kill them." Lucas explained.

"I am going to kill him." Ros stated, a little too calmly for Alec's liking. Harry held her gaze.

"No." He paused. "What did you tell him Tariq?"

"That we were waiting for the post mortems on you both. So until then we had no idea when you were being cremated."

"I am not being cremated." Ruth frowned as she glanced at Harry.

"No, but he is going to crash and burn." Ros grabbed her jacket. "Zoe, Lucas you go after Mai. See where her little love nest it. She must have been meeting him somewhere since she has been in the UK. Zaf with me." She jogged to the door as Harry grabbed his phone.

"Home Secretary." He paused. "Yes, we have him now I need CO19 available. NOW Home Secretary, I want their commander at my beck and call for the next 24 hours." He slammed the phone down in frustration giving Towers no time to argue. Malcolm pulled on his headset as Lucas and Zoe left the Grid. Adam ran a hand through his hair as Ruth looked up.

"You ok?"

"Yeah. You spoke to Mai last time."

"I know." Ruth was wondering where Adam was going with this.

"Ros and Alec spoke to Christine."

"Yes. We know that Adam."

"Mmm." He looked away. "I dunno. But Andrew Lawrence seems to be desperate to distract us. I want to know why. Alec? You feel like digging round Andrew Lawrence's constituancy residence?"

"You better drive." Alec pushed himself away from Malcolm's desk as Malcolm rolled his eyes. He remembered Alec White from his drinking days. It wasn't a time he remembered fondly, knowing if Alec had been remotely sober Tessa would never have been able to set Sarah up the way she had. He ignored the urge to loose his temper and concentrated on the task in hand.

"Heavy night last night." Adam shook his head as Alec followed him out of the Grid.

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Dimitri leant back against the wall as he tried to work out a way of getting out of the hole he found himself in. He didn't like the way Beth laid silently on the sofa behind Lawrence.

"Right." He glared at Lawrence. "That's Lucas informed of where we are."

"Ruth and Ros are alive. I'm relieved." Andrew smiled slightly. It was clear he was mad.

"Why? You had them shot."

"No." Andrew shook his head. "Not me, my superiors. You see the plan must go ahead. I must do as I am told or I will end up like Sarah Caulfield."

"Who?" Dimitri was playing for time. He felt sick as he saw the blood ooze along Beth's hairline. Too many of Section D had been in hospital since the case had been started. He almost regretted answering the Redflash almost three weeks earlier. He had no idea of what Nightingale was capable of but he had a feeling he was about to find out.

"Never mind." Andrew closed his eyes. "I didn't want this to happen. I really didn't. Your friend she looks like a nice girl."

"Beth? She is. Annoys the hell out of me at times but she's.." Dimitri smiled slightly.

"She's dead."

"I know." Dimitri lied. He could see Beth's eyes open slightly as Andrew faced him. Beth touched her hairline as she heard Andrew ramble on. All she knew was CO19 were likely to be on the way. Dimitri took a step towards him and turned on the charm smile as Andrew raised the gun to his head.

**A/N Is this any good? Is Andrew really insane or is he a criminal. What will Adam and Alec find at the house and what are the others going to get from the women in custody. Next time Nico comes home, but does Graham? Please review. Not much left.**


	24. Fire With Fire

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. Sorry read a few series 10 spoilers. Be prepared for angst.**

**Fire With Fire**

Ros slammed her foot on the accelerator as Zaf stared straight ahead. He was worried about Section D's newest recruits, knowing neither of them had been around when Andrew Lawrence had crossed their paths before. He watched the London streets whizz by as Tariq directed Ros away from the majority of speed cameras, knowing that Ruth would somehow make sure her friend kept her driving licence.

"Harry asked for CO19." Zaf stated. Ros nodded. She wasn't a fan of the armed police unit, knowing if they were involved they really were on their last chance. Although she would never ever admit it she always preferred Red Troop to be around. The SAS unit had worked with Section D before and she knew she could trust them, but Henno and the others were in Afghanistan or was it Iraq? She had no idea.

"Yes." Ros swung the car to the left as Tariq gave them more details on where they were headed. "Zaf, look Andrew Lawrence has changed. I know I am not a psychologist but he isn't the bumbling idiot that idolised Harry."

"Or fancied you." Zaf smirked.

"Something changed him and I don't know what it is."

"You want to find out?"

"Zaf, he helped an assasin plant a bomb in a hotel. Hundreds of people could have been killed, including us. He tried to sell Ruth to her step brother of all bloody people. Robert Wells was a sick bastard the first time he killed himself."

"Why do you say that?" Zaf had no idea of the history between Ruth and Robert but he knew his friend was scared of him.

"Leave it Zaf. He just was. If he had got hold of Ruth and Lucas." She shook her head, knowing she was lucky her husband had escaped with a broken arm and nothing else. She threw the car towards the curb as Zaf unclipped his seatbelt. She nodded as he checked his gun. Neither were particularly fond of weapons but both knew they may end up fighting fire with fire.

"You ready for this?" Zaf opened the car door.

"What do you think?" Ros snapped as Zaf smirked.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alec picked up the small brass ornament in the corner of the room as Adam went through the desk full of letters and papers next to it.

"What are you looking at?" Adam glared.

"This is chinese. Present from lovergirl?" Alec shrugged as he returned the paperweight to the small table.

"And."

"And it is chinese. Mai is chinese." Alec looked at Adam as if he was particularly thick.

"And you can buy those in Camden market. £3."

"But this is expensive, looks like an original."

"Alec, what are you trying to say?" Adam narrowed his eyes.

"I think we should call Zoe. Get her to ask Mai where she bought it from. Let Christine know what her fiance has been getting from his girlfriend."

"You reckon that is real?" Adam put the papers down and walked towards Alec. He still wasn't sure whether to trust the former IA investigator but it seemed he did have an eye for detail.

"Yeah." Alec handed him the ornament. "You got anything?"

"No." Adam closed the desk. "Reckon Ruth will know what that thing is." He stepped back as Alec smirked. He knew the team put alot into what Ruth knew. For a moment he wondered how they had ever got anything done when the analyst had been away.

xxxxxxxxxx

Ruth stared at the computer screen as Tariq informed Zaf that CO19 were ten minutes behind them. Harry was currently ensconsed in his office having a rather heated discussion with the commander of Special Branch. She glanced away from the computer screen as raised voices could be heard through the glass.

"He's not happy." Tariq muttered as Ruth looked back at the computer screen.

"Don't worry about him. That's my job." Ruth watched as Tariq smiled.

"You think Beth and Dimitri are ok?" Tariq sounded worried for the first time since he had returned to the Grid.

"I hope so Tariq." She squeezed his shoulder as he turned back to the computer screen.

"Alpha One, state your position." Ruth spoke into the comms as Tariq began pressing buttons on the computer. "Alpha One!" Ruth began to worry as Ros ignored her.

"Ruth?" Malcolm pulled his headset off. "I have lost Adam and Alec."

"Ok." Ruth closed her eyes, wondering what trouble her friends had got into this time. "Keep trying to get hold of them. Get hold of Zoe and Lucas."

"Lucas is Grid based till that cast is removed." Malcolm answered. Ruth sighed heavily.

"I know." Ruth spoke quietly. She knew she didn't have the authority to get the others to follow Zaf and Ros but she knew there was something wrong. "I'll talk to Harry." She stepped away from the computer. "Keep trying to get hold of Zaf and Ros." Malcolm nodded as Tariq tried the comms again. Something had happened. She just felt it.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry slammed the phone down on his desk as Ruth walked in.

"What!"

"Harry." She paused as he looked up at her.

"Sorry, Ruth. I er I didn't expect it to be you." He walked around the desk towards her.

"Oh, so other women walk in here without knocking?" She smiled slightly as he closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

"No. Not as a rule."

"We've lost contact with Ros and Zaf. I think something has happened. We know they are on scene."

"What do you mean lost contact? Ros always keeps her comms open."

"These days." Ruth bit her bottom lip. "Let me send Adam and Alec after her. Get Zoe and Lucas to go after them."

"Lucas is still in plaster." Harry watched as Ruth glared at the floor. "You really are worried."

"Harry, Andrew tried to kill you, shot Ros and kidnapped Tariq. Yes I am worried." Ruth met his gaze.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Beth could hear Andrew and Dimitri talking. Her head spun everytime she moved. It hurt to breathe. Dimitri had his back towards her. It sounded as though he was trying to talk Andrew down but it didnt sound as though he was having much luck.

"Andrew." Dimitri stared at him. "It doesn't have to be like this."

"Like what?" Andrew clicked the safety catch off his gun as he pointed it at Dimitri's head. "Like this you mean?"

"Put the gun down." Dimitri shook his head slightly. Andrew laughed.

"No." He paused as if reconsidering. "You know I can't do that. Look I was told to get rid of Section D. I thought getting rid of Lady Pearce would be the best way. That would kill Harry. I knew Ros wouldn't let that happen. Not once her precious Lucas was hurt." Dimitri narrowed his eyes. He had seen something in the background, out of the corner of his eye that caught his attention. He tried to ignore it as Andrew continued to ramble. All Dimitri could think of was the woman behind him, bleeding silently.

"You did all this to get Ros? You really are sick mate." Dimitri shook his head.

"No. It was all about the conference."

"And killing Lucas and the girls?"

"Lucas was a bonus. He isn't dead anyway." Andrew stared at him.

"Beth? Why kill her?" Dimitri felt sick. He knew Beth was alive, he had seen her chest moving earlier. He knew she was breathing.

"Sorry about that. It's what Harry and no doubt your mate Lucas would call collateral damage."

"You bastard." Dimitri stepped towards him, no longer caring if the gun went off.

"Now now Sailor." Andrew laughed. It was the last straw. Dimitri swung a punch as Ros entered the room, holding a gun to Andrew's head.

"If all this was to impress me, you failed." Ros deadpanned. Sirens in the background were ignored as Ros glared at Andrew. "This is getting boring. It ends now." She ignored Zaf who had kept his gun trained on Andrew as he stepped towards Beth. She was deathly pale and Zaf had never seen her so quiet. He knelt beside her and whispered her name. He paused when there was no response as Adam and Alec stormed through the door.

"ANDREW. IT IS OVER!" Ros raised her voice as she saw her friends arrive. Adam trained his gun on Andrew as Zaf put his gun away and leant over Beth's lifeless body.

"Beth, open your eyes." He spoke quietly. "It's over." His fingers reached for her carotid pulse. He closed his eyes as he realised why Beth was so quiet and pale. Adam and Alec bundled Andrew out of the room as Dimitri turned towards his friends as he heard Zaf swear and start CPR.

"One. Two. Three." Zaf pressed on Beth's chest as Ros called for an ambulance. She was deathly pale and her body moved unresistingly under the pressure on her chest. Dimitri crumpled to the floor, knowing that Andrew had been right.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruth felt Harry rest a hand on her lower back. She felt her stomach constrict as Ros' comms sprang back into life and request medical back up. Harry ignored the worried looks of the Grid based officers as Lucas pressed the comms button.

"Ros, what's happening?"

"Beth's down." She answered. "Lawrence is in custody."

"Get back here." Harry spoke. "Any other casualties?"

"Not yet." Ros spoke through gritted teeth as she watched Dimitri visibly disintergrate infront of her, even though he was trying to hide it. Zaf continued the CPR as Beth showed no signs of life. Adam returned to the group as Ros nodded towards Dimitri. She had no idea the relationship between him and Beth had become so serious.

"Look after him." She watched as Adam nodded before walking over to the former SBS man, who was softer than any of the others really knew.

"Dim? Come on mate. Ambulance is outside. Zoe and CO19 have got Lawrence outside. I'll get him back to Thames House with Ros and the others. You stay with Beth. Go with her in the ambulance." Adam rested a hand on his arm as he nodded.

"She's gone." His voice was broken as he looked at his friend. "Beth's gone."

"Not yet she hasn't" Zaf called as paramedics rushed in and began taking over from him. Zaf was exhausted, the exertion from carrying out basic life support had drained him as much as seeing Dimitri's grief stricken face. He closed his eyes as the paramedics inserted cannulas into veins and administed drugs while another ripped her shirt open and applied paddles to her chest. He rested his head back and hated Andrew Lawrence in a way he had never hated anyone else as he heard the paramedics try to shock the life back into Beth Bailey.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mai stared into space as Ruth sat opposite her. Both women had been silent for a few minutes as the tape recorder whirred on the desk. The guard stood in the corner.

"You know we have found Andrew." Ruth spoke calmly as Mai nodded, her dark hair fell in her eyes. "You know he tried to kill a woman. A friend of mine."

"Did he?" The chinese woman looked bored. Ruth held her gaze. Something about Ruth made it impossible for Mai to look away.

"How did you know I was an intelligence officer? He told you didn't he?" Ruth spoke calmly. She wanted to cry for the younger woman currently on the way to hospital. Still fighting for her life. She desperately wanted to get out of Thames House and go to the hospital to be with Beth and Dimitri. But she knew the best way of helping at the moment was to find out what Nightingale were planning next.

"No comment."

"You asked him who I was."

"You already know, so why ask me?" Mai stared at her.

"You were having an affair. But he isn't the most intelligent man in the world. We saved his life twice before. So he isn't the most apt man at taking care of himself. He was doing business with Robert Wells, I don't know why but he was. You were sleeping with him. Did you know he has a fiance? I think you did. You didn't care." Ruth knew she was rambling. "When Andrew told you who I was Robert was there. That's when you struck the deal wasn't it. Sell me. Get rid of the threat of Section D, because you knew my section would look for me. Andrew told you that. That would leave the way open for you and your friends in Nightingale to kill and maim whoever you chose." Ruth stared at her.

"You know so much."

"And thats why you looked horrified when I told you I was a mother."

"Was?" Mai narrowed her eyes.

"Yes." Ruth held her gaze. "I spoke in Mandarin and you didn't even realise the change in tense. You don't speak Mandarin fluently enough to know the difference in tense."

"You lied."

"No, pity Robert killed himself. You could have checked that with him too." Ruth watched as Mai looked away, finally able to drag her eyes away from Ruth.

"What's next? How many more people are going to be murdered for this group that thinks it is so powerful? For an ideology you don't even understand."

"You know nothing." Mai spat as Ruth nodded slowly. The sound of her mobile broke the heavy silence.

"Who are you talking to?" Mai spat as Ruth stood up and checked the caller display.

"Oh excuse me." She walked to the door. "It's my son." She answered the call and stepped from the room leaving Mai feeling even more confused and a little guilty than she had been earlier.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dimitri stared at the floor. Beth was dead. Beth Bailey. Larger than life and twice as loud was dead. The girl that had blagged a chance to be part of Section D by railroading Lucas and making Harry laugh was dead. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't cry, he couldn't move and he couldn't speak. Even when Zaf sat next to him on the cold plastic chair and pushed a machine coffee into his hand, he couldn't move.

"I called the Grid." Zaf stated. He knew Dimitri wasn't listening. "Mai Su Yung just confessed to Ruth. It's all on tape. We have Andrew Lawrence under arrest. Ros and Adam are questioning him. Tariq wants to come here. I told him to wait until we had any news. He's looking for Beth's next of kin."

"There aren't any." Harry sat the other side of the young man. Neither had realised Harry had arrived. "Have you spoken to the doctors?"

"Beth has no family?" Zaf suddenly felt even more sad for the young blonde woman that continually teased Tariq.

"No. Only child. Parents died in a car crash on the M4 when she was 20. Grandmother died of a stroke three years later. No aunts or uncles. Just Beth. Only child of two only children." Harry pinched his nose.

"So we are her family." Zaf sighed.

"Yeah." Harry nodded as Dimitri broke down and cried. Harry rested a hand on his back and waited for him to compose himself. He knew something had happened between the two newest members of his team and he knew they had always worked closer together than any of the others. It was then he saw Zaf look up as a doctor approached. He knew the doctor would tell them nothing if they didn't lie and make him believe they were Beth's family.

"Hello. My name is Dr Watts. Are you with Miss Bailey?" He watched as Harry nodded. He shot Zaf a look. "May I ask how you are related?"

"This is Zaf, a family friend." Harry started. "Her fiance Dimitri. Now can you tell me exactly what has happened to my daughter?"

"Of course. Please follow me." The young doctor lead the three men through to a more private waiting room as Harry looked behind him to see Dr Mike Burrows nod and shake his head. He knew Harry had just lied. But there was no way he was going to contradict the spy. Section D was a sort of family after all.

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Ruth smiled as she put the phone back in her pocket. Nico was as chatty and exitable as ever. He was looking forward to coming home to her. He knew all about Scarlett and was actually looking forward to having the little dog and two insane cats around. She shook her head. Her life was changing, her family was beginning to come together. Even Graham seemed to have really turned a corner. She couldn't wait to see Harry. It was then her thoughts turned to Beth. She walked back onto the Grid as she saw Malcolm rest a hand on Tariq's shoulder. Zoe sat in the corner more subdued than Ruth had ever seen her. Even Lucas, Adam and Ros looked withdrawn. Beth hadn't been on the Grid long but she had certainly had an impact.

"Oh no." Ruth grabbed her jacket. "Oh no, not Beth."

"Ruth, Tariq called the hospital." Zoe raised her eyebrows. "Harry's there."

"Right."

"Beth. Dimitri says she died. That Zaf was doing CPR, then the paramedics."

"I know." Ruth watched as Tariq wiped a tear away. "What have the doctors said?"

"I don't know." Zoe bit her lip. "That's the thing. No one seems to know. Dimitri hasn't spoken to any of the medics. He's in shock. Zaf is trying to get some information." Ruth looked around the room, unbelieving that none of them had thought to lie, when it was what they did for a living. She pulled her mobile out and called the Accident and Emergency Department.

"Hello. Can you help me please? My daughter Elizabeth Bailey, Beth was brought into your department. I believe her fiance is there with her. How is she?" Ruth slumped in the chair as she heard the nurse answer her.

**A/N Is Beth really dead? Is Nightingale planning something else? Will Dimitri pull himself together? Was this chapter any good? Please review. Not much more left now.**


	25. This is how a heart breaks

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. Thankyou all for the reviews. xx The title is taken from a Rob Thomas song, no copyright infringement intended.( Its a great song though!)**

**This is How A Heart Breaks.**

Dimitri couldn't concentrate on what was being said. He knew people were talking. He heard the doctor tell Harry something but it didn't make sense. Nothing made sense. Not anymore. He swallowed hard as he realised Zaf had left the room. He tried to pull himself together as tears threatened to fall. He was determined not to loose his composure in front of his boss a second time. He smiled slighlty when he realised what Beth would have said had she had known. _Beth. _He closed his eyes, aware that she was never going to tease him or drive him crazy again. _And I never told her. I never told her how much she means to me._

"Dimitri." Harry sat back down, having thanked the doctor he was unsure of what the young field officer had actually heard. "Dimitri."

"Sir." Dimitri forced the word out as Harry sighed. Very few people had called him sir. Only Ben and Jo had been able to get away with it and then it was only in times of extreme stress.

"I asked Zaf to call the Grid." He explained as Dimitri nodded. "Ruth has already called. Dimitri Levandis look at me."

Dimitri stared at his feet as Harry spoke. Harry paused for a moment, he was more worried about the former sailor than the woman they were there to visit. He had watched Adam breakdown after Fiona had died, had seen Ruth go into shock at Danny's murder and then Ros and Ruth break silently after Joanna had died. He'd seen Zoe and Zaf come to terms with Danny and Jo's deaths and watched as Adam had quietly accepted the news of Ben's murder and Connie's death. Then there had been Colin. Quiet gentle Colin that rarely left the Grid murdered in the most brutal of ways. Harry closed his eyes as he remembered Ruth shaking her head in disbelief as Adam ranted. Zaf had been the strong one then as even Malcolm had failed to cope in spectacular fashion. Now watching Dimitri he was worried. He knew the boy was crumbling in the same way as others had when they had lost a friend, a colleague. He watched Dimitri look away and realise to Dimitri Beth had been so much more. Briefly his mind turned to Ruth.

"Listen to me." Harry spoke firmly.

Dimitri nodded.

"Did you hear anything the doctor said?"

"Not much Sir."

"Beth is not dead. She is not dead. Do you understand?" Dimitri's eyes snapped to his boss. He knew he had spoken but he didn't understand it.

"Not dead."

"No son. Not dead." Harry smiled slightly. "She's a strong girl. Stronger than she looks it seems. The doctor said she had a cardiac arrest, that is Zaf hadn't started CPR when he did she would be dead. She's got a fractured skull and swelling on her brain. She has to have neurosurgery and she may be brain damaged." Harry paused as he thought of the bright, bubbly tough blonde brain damaged. "We wont know until she wakes up. The nurse is going to come back for you in a couple of minutes. You can see her before she goes into surgery." Dimitri nodded as he wiped a tear away from his eyes. It seemed that he was finally going to get the chance to tell her how he really felt.

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Ruth closed her eyes as she thanked the nurse and put the phone back in her pocket. She knew the others were expecting her to tell them what had happened to Beth. She just needed a moment to put her thoughts in order. It had been a strange day, one minute she had been in the interview room with Mai, then talking to Nico and then she had been trying to find out the fate of her injured friend. She opened her eyes to see Tariq staring at her.

"Ruth?" She nodded as she took a deep breath.

"Dimitri, Zaf and Harry are still at the hospital with her. The nurse said Beth is really ill."

"She's alive." Ros clarified. "Zaf was doing CPR."

"It worked." Ruth smiled slightly. "Look Andrew Lawrence hit her with his gun. The same way he hit Harry." It was then Ruth stopped. She suddenly realised how close she had come to being in Dimitri's shoes. She watched as Ros nodded. Both knew how close they had come to being murdered, to becoming widows. "She's going to theatre in the next few minutes."

"How bad is it?" Lucas watched as he covered Ros' hand with his own. For once his wife didn't flinch at the physical contact. It had always been something she frowned on in work but today with the silence that fell over the Grid she didn't move.

"She might be brain damaged. She needs neurosurgery." Ruth closed her eyes briefly as Tariq threw a pen across the desk and stormed out of the Grid. "We wont know until she wakes up." Lucas watched the younger man walk through the Pods as Malcolm ran a hand over his face.

"I'll talk to him." Malcolm decided as he followed his sidekick out of the room. Ros looked around at the depleated team. It seemed that in the short time Beth had been in Section D she had settled in and become part of the team.

"Lucas, find everything we have on Andrew Lawrence. There is no way he gets the insanity plea on this. He attacked that girl in cold blood."

"On it." Lucas nodded as she caught his eye.

"Ruth, Zoe find everything we have on Mai and how she got into the UK. Can we get any information from the Chinese on why Maria Chen was targeted?" Ros leant on her desk. Every muscle in her body was tense as she tried to think what the best course of action could be for her team.

"On it." Zoe nodded to Ruth.

"I'll contact my asset at the Embassy." Ruth watched as Ros nodded. "See if he can meet."

"Ros?" Adam stared at her.

"Adam, how do you feel about talking to Lawrence with me?"

Adam smiled slightly. "Wouldn't miss it for the world Boss."

Ros smiled slyly. She was going to make Andrew Lawrence sorry he had ever heard the word Nightingale. She glanced briefly at Ruth wondering if she could end the case and keep Ruth's confidence. She knew the Intel Analyst would understand but she wasn't sure if she would forgive her.

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Dimitri didn't get nervous. It wasn't in his nature. That was one of the reasons Harry had recruited him from the SBS in the first place. At that moment he was terrified.

"Maybe I should." He looked to Harry who just nodded.

"Maybe you should go and see her. I know you are nervous, but does Beth know how you feel about her?" Harry paused. "Oh don't look at me like that. Everyone knows. Now go and see the woman you love and make sure she knows how you feel."

Dimitri smiled slightly and followed the nurse towards the resus room.

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Ruth snapped the phone from her desk on the second ring. "Yes?"

"Ruth, it's me." She leant back in her chair as she heard her husband's voice.

"Are you ok?"

"Ruth. Stop worrying about me. Why are you still on the Grid? It's late." Harry walked towards his car as he listened to Ruth half laugh on the other end of the line. She looked around the Grid and realised no one else was there.

"I want to finish this. Harry I spoke to Nico earlier." She could almost feel him smiling at her.

"Good. He's ok I hope. Look Ruth, I've left Dimitri here at the hospital. I'll be with you in the next ten minutes. You were right about those two." He knew she was raising her eyebrows at his words.

"I did tell you she was in love with him."

"Yes, well she's in theatre now." Harry locked the car door as he spoke. "I am going to deal with Lawrence personally. I know Ros and Adam began the interview but I will speak with him in the morning. First thing. I've already told Towers he can whistle if he thinks I will be at the Section Head's meeting with him and the DG tomorrow."

"Harry." Ruth was immediately worried.

"No Ruth, some things are more important." He paused. "Like stopping Lawrence and his friends at Nightingale hurting anyone else. Like Nico coming home in two days time. I'm sure Towers can cope without me."

"He might be able to. I can't. Drive carefully." Ruth sighed as she heard Harry answer her. She prayed he was right. That they could actually stop Nightingale. What had begun as a routine but worrying redflash had turned into something much more sinister.

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Dimitri held Beth's hand. Her head was heavily bandaged. The monitors attached to her arm and chest told him she was still alive but she lay lifeless in front of him and it scared him more than anything he had ever faced in the field.

"Beth Bailey." He whispered as he kissed her hand. "You'd do anything to get out of having lunch with my parents." He watched her pale face as the tube in her mouth controlled her breathing for her. He kissed her hand again before standing up, the porters were waiting to take her to theatre. For a moment he didn't want to let her go, knowing she was alive and there with him but unsure of what would happen once she had been wheeled away.

"You come back to me. Understand Bailey. I love you. Don't you dare leave me." He kissed her heavily bandaged forehead. "I love you." He closed his eyes as the porters took her away.

**A/N Beth isn't out of the woods yet. More soon. Harry will have to face his former Home Secretary. Can Ros and Ruth make sure Section D survives this or is Nightingale really going to win this time. After all no one seems to really know how or why everything is happening. Please review, even if you hate it. Will update early next week. :D**


	26. In the Still of the Night

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. Thankyou all for the reviews. xx**

**In the Still of the Night.**

Ruth smiled slightly as she heard the Pod doors open. She always knew when he was there. It was just a sixth sense she had when it came to the Section Head. It had developed long before they had been together. He rested his hands on her shoulders as he looked at the computer screen over her shoulders.

"Ruth."

"Harry, I am meeting Xin Hoi tomorrow in the park. 10 am."

"In the park?"

"I know." Ruth turned to face her husband. "But she has information and she has never let me down before."

"But in the park?" Harry raised his eyebrows. "I already have one member of staff in hospital." He grew serious as Ruth nodded and stared at his tie. She reached up a hand and smoothed away an invisible wrinkle from his tie.

"I'll be careful." Ruth's gaze was focused on his tie. She still couldn't quite believe everything that was happening. She couldn't quite believe Harry was stood in front of her, she had half expected something to happen to him on the way from the hospital to the Grid.

"Ruth, if you must meet her in the park take back up. I'll have Zoe and Zaf there with you."

"Harry." She smiled slightly as she looked up and met his gaze. "I had back up last time. My asset was still shot right next to me."

"I know." Harry closed his eyes as he remembered. The thought of what could have happened that day still made him feel sick. "I know." It was then he pulled her into his arms wondering exactly how he was going to keep her safe this time.

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Dimitri sat on the cold plastic chair outside the ward where Beth was being settled. He couldn't quite believe she had made it through surgery. He had only got a brief glimpse of her as she had been brought to the ward from Recovery, her heavily badaged head shocked him as he had been wheeled past. Harry had been right. She was a strong girl. Stronger than any of them had really believed. He closed his eyes as he felt a hand on his back.

"Dimitri." His mother soothed.

"Mum."

"Your boss, he called me. Said your Beth was injured." She smiled at her youngest son. Dimitri nodded before collapsing in tears in his mother's arms.

"Ssh." Susannah held her son and prayed that the blonde he had brought home at New Year would recover.

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Ros put James back in his cot and turned the mobile on as he seemed more interested in anything and everything around him rather than going to sleep. She sighed. It seemed James was a nightowl. Like her.

"Are you ever going to go back to sleep?" She smiled at her son as he stared wide eyed at the mobile. "No. I didn't think so." She yawned as Lucas walked into the baby boy's bedroom.

"You still awake then?" Lucas smiled at his son who gurgled in response.

"He's been fed. He's been changed. I think he just wants to be awake." Ros leant her head back against Lucas' chest as his arms wrapped themselves around her waist. He kissed her shoulder, glad that the plaster had been removed. His elbow ached but he didn't care.

"I checked on Amy. She's sleeping."

"Glad someone is." Ros closed her eyes as she felt Lucas smile against her skin. He reached round and turned the baby monitor on as he saw James close his eyes.

"I called the hospital." Lucas stated. "Spoke to the nurse looking after Beth."

"How is she?" Ros was immediately more awake.

"Made it through surgery. They are keeping her on the ventilator until the morning. Complete rest for her internal organs. We wont know more until they wake her up." Lucas was angry. He had more or less recruited Beth and now she was in a hospital bed fighting for her life. Like Jo he believed Beth being hurt was his fault.

"Thank God." Ros sighed. "Dimitri?"

"Harry called his mother, made her sign the Act. She's with Dimitri now." Lucas watched as Ros closed her eyes and cursed. She hated the idea that Beth had no one. She knew it wasn't so long ago she was in the same position. Sometimes she had thought it was easier than letting anyone in but now she knew there was no way she wanted to go back to being on her own. She turned in Lucas' arms and rested her head against his bare chest. _What did I used to say? Lovers leave, friends annoy? _She couldn't quite remember as Lucas whispered the babies were both asleep and led her back to bed.

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Zaf read the report on the Basel meeting as Zoe placed a coffee in front of him.

"Anything?"

"No." He was frustrated. He wanted to find the link that would close the case, the link that would put Andrew Lawrence, Christine Dale and Mai Yung behind bars for a very long time.

"I went through the files on what happened with Tom." She felt her eyes cloud over. Tom had been her first Section Chief. She had been the one that had believed he had gone on the blink all those years ago, it had been Danny that had refused to believe it of their friend. Zaf rested a hand on her's and squeezed. Everyone knew how close Zoe, Danny, Helen, Ruth and Tom had been in those days. The transition from Section B to D had been tricky but even in those days Harry's team had been legendary. The talk of Thames House. Now only Ruth and Zoe remained along with Harry.

"Zo?"

"I never knew Harry warned Tom to keep away from her." Zoe ran a hand through her hair. "But he was too pigheaded to listen."

"Or he loved her too much." Zaf watched as Zoe nodded slightly.

"And now Tom is dead." Zoe took a deep breath. Zaf watched as she tried to compose herself. "I wonder if he knew about Danny."

"We'll never know." Zaf watched.

"Christine Dale knows me." Zoe watched. "She might tell me something she wouldn't tell the others. She needed our help once."

"Zoe." Zaf sighed. "She came to us asking us to find Andrew. She said she didn't know anything about all that stuff with him before, about Nightingale. She was married to Tom when they started seeing each other. She worked for the CIA the woman is an accomplished liar. She knew what she was doing." Zoe looked away as she closed the file.

"Why?"

"I don't know." Zaf looked up at her as she began pacing the room. "Christine loved Tom, that was obvious."

"But you think she betrayed him?"

"Well obviously. He was married her but she was sleeping with Andrew for at least part of the marriage. Tom said he was blackmailed into betraying Lucas all those years ago and that he was blackmailed into getting involved in Nightingale." She began pacing the room.

"He wasn't innocent Zo. He shot and killed Richard Dolby. He shot Harry, twice." He stood and caught her hand. "And talking of which he is going to have a fit when he realises you have these files here."

"But who was blackmailing him? Her? Was Tom only involved in Nightingale because of Christine?" Zoe faced him as her voice began to shake. Zaf shrugged.

"Emma's sleeping. We're going to wake her up at this rate." He rested a hand on her shoulders as she closed her eyes. "But I think there is a chance she knew exactly where he was. Exactly what he was doing and I don't think she was as scared of Tom as she wanted us all to think."

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Wes turned the computer off as he heard Carrie and Adam talking in the next room. He had just spent twenty minutes talking to Molly on IM when he realised how late it was. Falling asleep in double maths was tempting but hardly going to get him and Molly in his teacher's good books. He was about to get into bed when he realised what Carrie and Adam were talking about.

"Dad?" He wandered from his room to the living room.

"You ok mate?" Adam looked up as Wes yawned.

"What are you doing awake?" Carrie smiled slightly as he shrugged.

"Heard you. Is Beth really hurt? Is it that bad?" Wes had met the blonde a few times since she had joined the team. They'd instantly hit it off, especially when he found out Beth knew all about Nintendo and PSP3.

"She's in hospital." Carrie glanced at Adam as she rested a hand on her abdomen. "She had to have an operation."

"But she's ok." Wes stared at Adam.

"She's hurt. Dimitri and Harry went to the hospital with her. Don't worry they'll look after her." Adam answered. He had never really been able to lie to his son. Wes nodded. "Go to bed. We'll go to see her tomorrow. Get some flowers or something."

"Nah, I'll take my DS up there. Flowers are so boring." Wes watched as Carrie smirked slightly. "Oh tell Auntie Ruth I added Graham and Nick on Facebook."

"Nick?"

"Nico. Her Nico. Graham messaged me on Facebook, said it would be nice if Nico knew at least one person his own age so Molly and me we added him. He prefers Nick to Nico." Wes rubbed his eye as he spoke.

"Ok." Adam smiled slightly. The mannerism reminded him so much of Fiona but he would never be able to tell his son that. "Bed."

"Yes Dad." Wes rolled his eyes before kissing Carrie's cheek and wandering back up the stairs.

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Malcolm tried to close his eyes and sleep. He knew he had to get some rest if he was going to be any use to the team in the next few hours. Sarah smiled slightly as she slipped into the bed beside him.

"Hey cariad."

"It's getting too complicated." Malcolm watched as she frowned.

"The case. The more we find out, the more arrests we make the more we get dragged into something that is far too big for us to cope with." He closed his eyes as he thought of Lucas being injured, Ruth's cut shoulder, Tariq's abduction and Harry ending up in hospital. Now Beth was fighting for her life. For a moment his thoughts were dragged back to Jo and the day Ben had been murdered. Too many people had been hurt. He wondered briefly how many more would be.

"So, step back." Sarah propped herself on one elbow. "Look at it as a whole, rather than get bogged down in details. Leave that for the prosecution. You said there have been arrests."

"Yes." Malcolm sighed. "And Ruth has an asset to meet in the morning. Zaf and Zoe are going with her."

"Well thats good. And you said Beth is holding her own."

"Critical but stable." Malcolm hated the phrase which the media trotted out when there were injuries reported on the news. "Tariq and I are still going through digital recordings, looking through emails. GCHQ haven't been the most forthcoming on this. Not with Sam on maternity leave."

"Sam?"

"Samantha Buxton. She transferred to GCHQ. Wanted a quiet life." Malcolm felt himself relax under her touch.

"Oh." Sarah smiled. "She was there when Tom was Section Chief?"

"Yes. In those days it was Harry, Tom, Danny, Sam, Ruth, Zoe and myself. Tom left under somewhat of a cloud." Sarah nodded.

"Me too." She smiled as Malcolm wrapped her in his arms.

"No. You were innocent. Tom shot Harry. Point blank range. Then Christine Dale. Actually that woman is always at the centre of it. Christine Dale became Christine Quinn and is soon to be Christine Lawrence. She's always there. In the background." Malcolm closed his eyes.

"Talk to Harry. Tomorrow."

"I will." He smiled slightly as he felt her kiss his chest. "I will."

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Tariq shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked through the corridors of the hospital. He was headed towards the Neuro Intensive Care where Beth was still on the Life Support machine. He looked up as he saw Dimitri and his mother sat in the waiting area outside the ward.

"Hi."

"Tariq." Dimitri stood up as Susannah nodded. "This is my mum."

"Hi." Tariq smiled at the older woman. "How is she?"

Dimitri shrugged his shoulders as the door to the ward opened. A doctor wearing green hospital scrubs approached them.

"Hello, I'm told you are with Elizabeth Bailey."

"Beth." Dimitri instantly corrected as his mother rested a hand on his back.

"Beth." The doctor repeated. "If you would like to follow me I'll fill you in on her condition." The surgeon smiled slightly. He could see the woman he had just operated on had a big family but for one moment he didn't believe any of them were blood relations.

"Is she?" Dimitri asked as Tariq glanced at him. He knew his friend couldn't complete his question.

"Doc, is Beth going to be ok?" Tariq asked as the room around him fell silent. The doctor sighed.

"I think we had better sit down."

**A/N Please let me know what you think. Will Ruth's asset and Malcolm's findings be able to help? Will Nico settle in ok?**


	27. Harry's Game

**Disclaimer not mine. I still do not own Spooks.**

**Harry's Game.**

Harry was still unhappy about Ruth meeting her asset in broad daylight but he knew if he tried to stop her going it would only cause another argument which would end with her leaving the Grid without back up. As he waited in the Interview Room for Andrew Lawrence to be brought from the cells he glanced at Ros before checking his watch. It was 9:45. Ruth would be on her way to the park. Harry didn't want to think about it. About everything that had gone wrong and still could.

"What was said yesterday?" Harry watched as Ros raised an eyebrow.

"Harry, you read the transcripts."

"Yes Ros." Harry watched as she visibly tensed. "I also know you."

"I wanted to know what they thought they were doing. Why he was involved with Ruth's step brother." She watched as Harry's eyes darkened. "And before you asked I didn't tell him why Ruth and Robert being in the same room was so sickening, never mind the past. I wanted to know why he thought letting Robert and his friends buy Ruth and Lucas was such a good idea."

"I see."

"Harry, I may have to break Ruth's confidence one day. I wont do that while I don't have to but if I told anyone about what happened Ruth would never forgive me, even if she understood why I did it. He was there for a reason. He murdered Lee Wong in front of me in cold blood. Harry, a dead man was at a trade conference. What can possibly explain that?" Ros narrowed her eyes.

"Let's find out." Harry stood as the interview room door opened and Andrew Lawrence was led in.

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Dimitri opened his eyes as he began to hear the noises of the Neuro ITU change as the nurses changed shifts. He couldn't help but think about what the doctor had said the night before. The look in his eyes as he asked if Beth carried a Donor Card. He rubbed his eyes as he prayed that it had all been the worst nightmare of his life.

"Beth?" He muttered as he looked up to see her pale lifeless body being kept alive by machines. "Morning." He kissed her cheek as he squeezed her hand. "You planning on waking up? Its getting a bit boring now."

He sighed as the nurse approached him.

"Look." She sat down next to him as he waited for her to speak. "The doctors said they are happy with Beth so far. When they've done the ward round we're going to try to get her off the ventilator. See if she can breathe on her own."

"That's good isn't it?" Dimitri asked. "I mean, last night the surgeon wasn't very hopeful."

"Yes." The nurse smiled. "Yes, it's a good start. And he's always like that."

"But." Dimitri turned his attention back to Beth. "What if she can't?"

"Then the doctor will put her straight back on the machine. Try again at another time. It might be difficult for her the first time, Beth may still need the machine. But the doctors are happy to try." Dimitri nodded as she spoke. "But you can't be here for that, so young man go and get something to eat and a shower because she is going to need you firing on cylinders in a couple of hours." The middle aged nurse smiled as she saw Dimitri's shoulders sag. "You are going to be no good to her if you don't look after yourself."

The nurse walked away, leaving Dimitri with the still silent Beth. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her palm as the machine hissed as it pumped the breath in and out of her body.

"Right Beth." He watched, no longer expecting a response. "It's been nice being able to talk to you without being interrupted all the time. I think all the others know about you and me now. Including Harry. Haven't worked out if that will get me bumped over to Section C. Or worse still 6." He paused. "But it's time you woke up. I'll be back soon so try to wake up for me. Please Beth." He kissed her cheek and walked away, determined not to cry again.

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Ruth walked towards the bench in the park. She wasn't looking forward to meeting her asset and couldn't keep her mind on what she was doing. In three hours Graham and Nico were going to be on the way home. Harry was interviewing Andrew Lawrence and her friend was on a life support machine. It made concentrating on what Xiu had to say a little difficult. She brushed her brown hair out of her face as she continued to walk towards the bench next to the ice cream van and tried not to think of anything but the task in hand.

"I have eyeball." Zoe whispered as she turned the pages of her magazine. She glanced up to see the petite chinese woman walking towards the bench.

"Yeah." Zaf answered as he leant against the tree and pretended to wait for someone.

"Ok. Here we go." Zoe answered as she saw Ruth sit on the bench.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Graham was beginning to worry about taking Nico out of Cyprus. He sat in a small cafe across the street from the orphanage and wondered if uprooting the child from the country he knew, all his friends, school and what was left of his family was really a god thing. Before he could begin to question himself further he realised someone was sat in the chair opposite him.

"Graham?"

"Hello." He smiled as the same mesmerising eyes he had been dreaming about since he had first visited the orphanage met his.

"You looked a little apprehensive."

"I feel it." Graham answered honestly.

"You do not want to take Nico into your family?" The nun looked impossibly young. It was then he registered she was not in full habit. A gold cross hung from her neck but she was dressed in civillian clothes. He had no idea why.

"It isn't that. He's a smashing kid but is it right for him? I mean my dad has two adult kids. Me and my sister, then there's my nephew Charlie. Ruth and Dad work all the hours God sends. We don't have a conventional family life." Graham looked away, unsure why he was telling this stranger about his family.

"Who does?" She smiled. "Look Nico lost his mother when he was a baby. Then his father refused to look after him so he went to his grandmother. She died last year. He only took Nico back when he left medical school. Then Ruth came to the island. She was the only mother he had known. When she had to leave he was lost. Of course he lived with Anna when his father died but now she and Joseph are dead he has no one."

"What about his uncle? Anna's husband. He might come round."

"Maybe." She smiled. "If the alcohol does not kill him first. Look Costas is a violent bully. I would not want Nico with him. You on the other hand I see are a quiet and thoughtful young man. I think Nico will be lucky to have you as an older brother." She watched as he blushed.

"Oh I'm no angel. Never have been. My father will tell you that." Graham met her eye.

"I spoke with your father, with Claire Younis too. Neither said anything of the sort. Infact your father sounded immensly proud of you for overcoming all the difficulties you have had." She watched as Graham's eyes widened. "I mean, your sister depends on you as do the people where you work. We would not even consider allowing any child to leave with you if you were not a good person. Believe me we do our background checks." She touched his hand as he smiled slightly.

"Why aren't you wearing a habit?" He immediately regretted asking as tears filled her eyes.

"I feel. It would seem that the life of a nun is not my calling afterall. I am leaving the Convent today." She looked down as Graham smiled.

"Really? In that case can you tell me your name, rather than the name the convent gave you?"

"Teresa. My name is Teresa, my brother calls me Terri."

"Well Terri. I think the convent has lost a great nun. Can I buy you a coffee?" He smiled and Terri suddenly realised why the Mother Superior had called him a charmer.

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Ruth was enjoying the early spring sunshine as Xiu walked towards her.

"Good morning." The chinese woman sat on the bench next to her.

"Hi." Ruth smiled slightly. "You said you had something for me?"

"It isn't much Rachel." Ruth smiled, the woman only knew her by her codename. There was no way Ruth was going to give assets her real name. It was too dangerous.

"But." She waited as something in the air seemed to change around them.

"But, there is intelligence that Nightingale had inflitrated the highest level of the British Establishment. That something is going to happen. In the nest few days. I don't know what, but Rachel my people they are concerned." Xiu paused as Ruth nodded.

"The highest level?"

"Not the Prime Minister. But the man at the trade conference. He is involved. Also the businessman."

"What businessman?" Ruth had an idea who she was referring to.

"English man. I think he works for a trade conglomerate in China. I am sorry but I don't know his real name, the same way I don't know your real name." Xiu smiled.

"When?"

"Alot is mentioned about the end of the week." Xiu closed her eyes. It was then Ruth became aware of movement just out of the corner of her eye. A subtle change in the air around them. For a moment she assumed it was children approaching the Ice Cream van or mothers pushing prams. She tensed as she realised how unlikely that was so early in the day during term time.

"Xiu." Ruth tensed.

"What?" Xiu dug a hand in her pocket and fished out a small piece of paper before curling it in her fist.

Ruth glanced towards the tree on her left. Ever so carefully turning slightly so anyone watching would think she hadn't noticed them. She had no idea if Zaf and Zoe had seen the same thing or if she was just being paranoid. Xiu frowned as she saw what Ruth is doing. Seconds later shots ran out as Ruth threw herself on the ground. Xiu was half under her on the ground, shaking as she hit the tarmac.

"Stay down." Ruth hissed as her hands and knees scraped on the tarmac. She could hear people shouting all around her. Xiu did as she was told and lay silently. Ruth was relieved the girl had the sense to play dead. Seconds later Zaf could be heard running towards her as more shots ran out. Police sirens blared in the distance.

"You ok?" Zaf asked as he reached the bench. "Zoe? You have him?"

"NO!" Zoe snapped as she looked around the park for the gunman. "Eyewitness says he was on a bike. No other description."

"Right. Get back to the car." Zaf tapped his earpiece as he reached the two women on the ground. He paused for a moment as he realised neither had answered the comms call. Ruth should have been able to hear him and Zoe at all times. He had no idea why she wouldn't.

"Hey." He knelt down as Ruth groaned slightly. He helped her into a sitting position as he saw the cut above her eyebrow and swollen lip.

"I am getting really fed up of people trying to kill me Zaf." She touched the wound over her eyebrow gingerly. "Xui? Are you ok?"

The Chinese woman nodded as she lay on her back and stared up at the sun. "I think so."

"Are you hurt?" Zaf frowned slightly, relieved that Ruth didn't seem to be in danger he crossed to the woman on the floor. "Can you sit up?"

"I think Rachel knocked the stuffing out of me."

"She has a habit of doing that." Zaf smiled. "Come on, up you get."

Xiu smiled slightly as Zaf helped her to her feet. "I have to get back to the Embassy." She looked at Ruth and gasped as she saw her contact bloodied and bruised. "Rachel?"

"I hit my face on the bench when, well when someone tried to shoot us." Ruth looked around the park. "Zaf take Xiu back to the Embassy."

"And where will you go?"

"Back to work." Ruth shrugged her shoulders. "Thanks Xiu, sorry but I think we should meet anywhere else but the park."

"I agree." The younger woman smiled slightly. Zaf shook his head.

"If you think I am letting you go back to work on your own? Harry would kill me! And come to think of it so would Malcolm and Dimitri and quite possibly Tariq."

"Tariq couldn't hurt a fly." Ruth smiled and immediately regretted it as her lip stung.

"I dunno about that." Zaf ushered them both towards the waiting police car as a uniformed officer approached them. "Go back with him, I'll make sure Xui gets back to work. Zoe is already on the way back to Thames House." Ruth rolled her eyes. The thought of a trip in a police car and then explaining that to Harry and the others didn't really appeal to her. But one look at how shaken Xiu was and she knew she had no option.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry glared at Andrew Lawrence as the younger man sat down opposite him. Ros remained silent at his side as the blonde man raised his eyebrows.

"Ros? I didn't think you would want to see me again." Andrew smiled slightly.

"Believe me." Ros paused. "I have better things to do with my time."

"Andrew." Harry drew his attention back to him, knowing Tariq was listening to everything in the next room.

"Harry."

"You are the only real suspect in a bombing on the British mainland. Care to tell me why you were associating with a known assasin and a man that supposedly killed himself ten years ago." Harry stated rather than asked.

"No."

"Andrew." Harry was on the verge of loosing his temper. "You kidnapped my technical officer."

"No, technically I didn't."

"You knew about it. You planned it. You ordered the killing of two of my senior officers? Was that plan B after selling one of them to the highest bidder?" Harry glared at him.

"They aren't dead. The fact Rosalind is in front of me tells me that."

"You wanted me dead." Ros deadpanned. "You wanted to kill Ruth."

"I didn't know you were going to be there. At the trade conference."

"Andrew. You are not that niave. A major trade conference on the UK mainland where there are delegates from all major countries in the western world and you expect us not to be there? Come on Andrew, even I gave you more credit than that." Ros watched as he narrowed his eyes.

"Why can't you be killed Ros? Hotel bombs, shootings, you just don't die." Andrew watched as Harry turned a dangerous shade of red. Ros just smiled tightly. Andrew was unable to meet his gaze. The older man was toying with him and suddenly he knew why Harry had the reputation he did.

"Sorry to disappoint you. I suppose it just isn't my turn."

"Yet."

"I dont think that is for you to decide." Ros smiled slightly as she glared at him. "The least we can charge you with is attempted murder. And believe me we have enough evidence to charge you with that."

"Liar."

"Yes. Often. Not today." Harry got up and walked to the other side of the room. "You were part of Nightingale during the peace conference. You were a traitor the first day Ros saved your pathetic little life. We just didnt have the evidence then. Now we do. I suggest you start talking." Harry snapped his head up as the door opened. Ros never took her eyes off Andrew as Tariq walked into the room.

"For the benefit of the tape. Tariq Masood has entered the room." Ros stated.

"Harry, you have to end the interview now." Tariq braved a look at the man who had abducted him.

"Why?" Ros stated.

"We have some intelligence. Harry you need to see this." Tariq walked out of the room as Ros and Harry left Andrew behind. The former politician stood as the door slammed shut behind them.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

**A/N More soon. Next chapter we find out if Beth is going to wake up and exactly why Ruth and Xiu were shot at. Oh and Nico and Graham get home. Please let me know what you think. I am still going to write Malcolm and Sarah's wedding but I think that is going to be the next fic now. Thanks for taking the time to read.**


	28. Scratching the Surface

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. Thankyou all for the reviews. xx**

**Scratching the Surface**

Harry glared at Tariq as the technical officer handed him a piece of paper. Ros raised an eyebrow as she waited for someone, anyone to tell her what the message said. Harry frowned as Tariq stepped back. He wanted to go back to the Grid, as far away from teh man that had wanted to kill his friends and kidnap him as he could possibly get.

"What is it?" Ros stepped forward to allow an officer from Section C to pass her.

"Morse Code." Harry frowned. It had been years since anyone had got him a message in Morse Code. He smiled slightly remembering how Ruth had got the nurse to give him the piece of paper, he frowned. Suddenly he realised he hadn't asked Ruth exactly what she had said to the nurse to get her to deliver the note. He made a mental note to ask her later.

"What does it say?" Ros frowned.

"Saturday." Harry met her gaze. "Saturday. London. Mass change, mass impact."

"What the Hell is that supposed to mean?" Ros looked from Tariq to Harry and back again.

"I have no idea" Tariq held his hands up. "Ruth handed me that the moment she got back, said I had to get it to you straight away." Harry nodded.

"Where is she?" Ros asked before the words were out of Harry's mouth.

"In the Ladies sorting herself out. Zaf took Xiu back to where she works and Zoe is running this through the databases. You've got the original copy. Xiu gave it to Ruth before the gunman turned up." Tariq shrugged.

"Gun man." Harry's voice was dangerously low. Tariq avoided his gaze.

"I think you had better explain that last statement Tariq." Ros could see Harry was about to explode.

"Ruth said Xiu gave her that just before she was shot at. No one was hurt really." Tariq stepped back.

"Ok." Ros answered. "Harry, why don't you go and see what else happened and Tariq will sit in with me on the interview." Ros turned, the conversation was over as far as she was concerned.

"No way." Tariq looked terrified. "I'm a techie. Call Zoe down here." Ros raised her eyebrow.

"Get Zoe now." She watched as Tariq almost ran back to the Grid. Harry continued to stare at the paper in his hand. "Harry, why is Ruth hiding in the Ladies toilets.. Go and see what happened. You are no use to me here until you stop worrying." Harry nodded as his phone rang.

"Yes."

"Dad." Harry smiled slightly before mouthing the word Graham to Ros who just nodded. "Flight's been delayed. Nico is fine. Currently stuffing his face full of McDonalds while we wait."

"How long?" Harry knew he had to keep the call short.

"Three hours. We should be back in the UK about 8pm? Unless they delay the flight again. Look I'm bringing someone else too. Teresa. She's a lady that works with the orphanage. Well, she knows Nico so she's coming too. Help him settle in. I asked Catherine if she could stay at hers." Harry rolled his eyes. Only Graham would start a holiday romance when he was supposed to be there to help the family. He sighed. Graham and him weren't so different after all.

"Ok. Seems you have everything under control. I'll see you tonight." Harry listened as his son said his goodbyes before putting the phone back in his pocket.

"Harry." Ros was still waiting as Zoe walked towards her, looking a little flustered. "Go and sort out Ruth."

"Yes." Harry nodded. Zoe folded her arms as she reached them. "Zoe, sit in on the interview with Ros."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dimitri stood outside the Neuro Intensive Care Unit feeling sick. He had never felt so nervous in his life. The nurse had told him to make himself scarse for a couple of hours but now he was outside and desperate to see Beth but terrified at the same time. It was only when the nurse he had spoken to earlier arrived that he realised how long he had been stood outside.

"Hello Luv." She smiled as Dimitri glanced at her.

"Hi."

"Have you been in yet? What are you waiting out here for? Beth was taken off the ventilator ten minutes ago."

"She's breathing on her own?" Dimitri felt his whole body sag in relief.

"She's still a poorly girl but she can breathe on her own." The nurse ushered him into the ward as he realised he could see Beth without the tubes attached to her face, distorting the image of her sleeping peacefully.

"Thank you." He smiled as he walked towards his best friend and he wasn't sure what else she was any more.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Beth was exhausted. She had never been so tired in her life. The machines were bleeping all around her. She had no idea what they were and what the beeping meant. Her eyes remained closed as the various noises and voices all around her seemed unfamiliar and distant. She considered opening her eyes but decided the effort was too much. For a moment she wondered how much she had to drink the night before. It had to be the lads fault. It was always them that got her drunk.

"Beth?" She felt someone kiss her cheek. The voice was familiar. "You're going to be ok."

She recognised the voice but had no idea where it came from. She couldn't fit a name to it, only that the owner was male and seemed very worried about her.

"You can open your eyes you know." He teased as she ignored him. It was only the incessant bleeping of the machine and his worried voice that finally broke her resolve to stay asleep. Carefully she opened her eyes and blinked in the harsh hospital light.

"Beth?" Dimitri repeated. She frowned as she looked at the man in front of her. He looked familiar.

"Hi"

"Hi." He repeated back to her. "How are you feeling."

"Hurts."

"Oh God." Dimitri had a very strange feeling she didn't remember him. He squeezed her hand as she turned her head to face him. Every movement made her feel dizzy and her throat stung everytime she tried to swallow. "The nurse said you might feel a bit dizzy. You know who I am yeah? You remember anything?"

"I." Beth swallowed painfully as the worst migraine in the world shot through her head. It was then the memories began to flood her mind. Her teasing Lucas, Ruth making her coffee, Tariq and her teasing Dimitri, struggling with a Christmas tree. Soggy chips. She smiled slightly as she remembered the way Dimitri looked at her when they were alone. The way he kissed her as if she was the only woman in the world.

"Sailor boy." She smiled slightly as Dimitri let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding.

"That's me."

"Been." She stopped "Head hit, he had a gun."

"I know. We got him. It's over." Dimitri just hoped he wasn't lying. "Beth."

Silently she held his gaze. There was something in the way he looked at her that made her think there was more he wanted to say. But she was exhausted, she had no idea how she could say everything she wanted to but she didn't have the energy to put her thoughts into words. Instead she smiled slightly and hoped Dimitri knew what she wanted to say. He smiled slightly before reaching forward and kissed her cheek.

"You get some rest." He watched as she curled her fingers around his. "I'll go and call home, my mum was here last night but she had to get home for Dad and the others. Harry and Tariq have been here too. I'll ring the Grid. I know Ruth has been on the phone since you got here."

"Oh." Beth could feel her eyes beginning to close. The nurse had warned him how exhausted Beth could be.

"I'll be back. You get some sleep." He stood up and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I love you." Beth smiled at the shocked look on his face. It seemed the words had got from her brain to her lips after all.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruth winced as she dabbed at the graze on her left hand. It had been years since she had grazes on her hands and knees. She was more annoyed at herself than anything. While she was relieved her and Xiu hadn't been shot she was furious that someone had tried to shoot them. She was also annoyed that on the day her boys were coming home. _My boys, where did that come from? _she had abrasions and brusing all over her face. She knew what Nico would think the moment he saw her. He had seen her battered and bruised more times than most people on the Grid had. He had heard the arguments with her and George. In the begining she had fought back but as time went on she learnt that it was easier to ignore his temper and try to just get through the day. More often than not she ended up with bruises on her wrists and body. She had only hinted to Harry how violent George had been, although she thought he knew. She bit her bottom lip as she rinsed her hand under the hot tap and tried to pick out the gravel that stuck in her palm. Looking up she spotted Harry in the mirror behind her.

"Harry, you have to stop loitering around women's toilets. You are going to get a reputation." She smiled as he rolled his eyes.

"Tariq gave me the note. What happened?"

"Xiu handed me the note just before someone tried to shoot us." Ruth watched him in the mirror as his eyes darkened.

"Do you have a tattoo of a dartboard on you somewhere? Ruth the amount of times you are targeted." He stopped as he saw the tears fill her eyes. Resting both hands on her shoulders he sighed as he turned her to face him. She closed her eyes as he tilted her chin up so she had to look at him. "Ruth."

"I'm ok."

"You look like someone beat you to a pulp."

"I feel like it. It's all superficial. Cuts and bruises."

"Here." He took a hankercheif from his pocket and rinsed it under the tap before he wiped the dried blood from her face. "Let's try and make you a bit more presentable for when our boys get home." Ruth smiled slightly and instantly regretted it as her lip stung.

"Ruth, get up on the counter." I haven't seen knees that badly cut since Catherine fell off her bike when she was 6."

"Harry."

"Ruth, please." She sighed as she perched on the counter, letting Harry clean the cuts on her knees. He raised an eyebrow when she told him her tights had been ruined and subsequently dumped in the bin.

"Harry, the note. It was in morse when I got it. Andrew isn't the mastermind behind all this."

"I never credited him with the intelligence."

"I know. But someone is pulling the strings. Mai was hired to do a job. She's an assasin. Christine wasn't there but I know she is more involved than any of us wanted her to be. I think she set Tom Quinn up. I don't know how but she did. Look Harry."

"Ruth." He glanced up once he was satisfied her knees were free of tarmac and grit. "She's everywhere. Almost everytime Nightingale has haunted us she has been there, in the background. Playing the loyal girlfriend or wife."

"Are you sure you aren't being cynical?" Harry stepped closer to inspect the wound above her eye.

"Yes. I am. Harry, she is always there. She is the link between Tom and Andrew. What if she was the link all those years ago when Tom betrayed Lucas? What if she wasn't Mace's puppet? What if she knew what she was doing when Tom's conscious imploded? After all it was her that went to him with intel that he destroyed. She was there when he went on the blink. Harry, it's her. I know it is." Ruth was warming to her theme when Harry silenced her with a kiss. She pulled back and rested her forehead against his. "I don't get that distracted that easily."

"I do." Harry brushed her hair out of her face. "Ruth you were shot at today."

"Yes."

"Christine Dale was in custody at the time."

"Means nothing. When Ros went to bring Andrew in he wasn't alone. I don't think she is operating on her own and the message about Saturday is worrying. Ask her about it. Let Lucas and Adam talk to her. The two men that saved her, but were betrayed by her ex husband. It's her. She's the link Harry I know she is."

"Proof." Harry watched as Ruth's eyes darkened. "I can only charge her with minor Anti Terrorism breaches as we stand at the moment. Possibly conspiracy but not anything along the lines of membership of a known terrorist organisation. Ruth, I agree she is the link but if we are going to charge her and Andrew then I need more proof."

"Andrew kidnapped Tariq. Shot Ros in the leg."

"No. He didn't shoot her. His sidekick did."

"On his say so."

"Ruth, we have to prove that. I know he is as guilty as sin." Ruth closed her eyes as she felt him wash more dried blood from her face. "And we are going to stop them but right now I am more interested in two things."

"Which would be?" Ruth met his eyes. He smiled slightly.

"Finding out what these idiots have planned for the weekend and the woman in front of me." He held her gaze as Ruth felt the goosebumps spring up on her arms. She forgot about the pain in her lip as she rested her hands against the sides of his face and kissed him.

xxxxxxxxxx

Malcolm watched as Lucas and Adam returned to the Grid. It was clear Lucas was happier now he wasn't confined to the Grid.

"Malcolm." He smiled as he held out a packet of donuts. Malcolm smiled slightly before shaking his head. "Not long to the stag night."

"Christine Dale." Malcolm ignored him.

"Don't worry Malcolm. I've booked real strippers, not her." Malcolm immediately blushed as Adam teased him.

"You know she was not at the Basel meeting." Malcolm stated as Tariq returned to the Grid.

"Yeah." Tariq joined in. "I checked again."

"So?" Lucas held the older man's gaze. He knew Malcolm had found something.

"Ruth asked me to check something while she was out. We knew Andrew Lawrence was there but it has also come to light that Christine Dale left the country one day after he did. While she did not go to the meeting she certainly was in the area." Malcolm sighed. "Using an assumed name. But she was in Switzerland. I went through the CCTV cameras from the airport in Basel. She arrives the next morning, only there are no records of Christine Dale or Quinn on any plane manifests. There is a Michelle Kennedy."

"What is it with American blonde and assuming President's names?" Ros walked in. "That man has a death wish, why Harry wouldn't let me shoot him I'll never know."

Lucas smiled slightly as Ros perched on the side of Malcolm's desk.

"What have we got?"

"Not sure." Malcolm met her eye. "But I wouldn't plan anything for this weekend."

**A/N Just felt we needed a little fluff. What will happen on Saturday? Hope to update over the weekend. Possibly not until Sunday. But you never know :D A review would make my day. Thanks xxx**


	29. Bad Day

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. Thankyou all for the reviews. xx**

**A Bad Day?**

Ruth stepped back on to the Grid, painfully aware of both the time and her throbbing knees. She couldn't help but smile as she saw Harry talking to Dimitri. The young man had returned to the Grid when she had been in the bathroom with Harry. She blushed slightly as she realised what could have happened if someone had walked in on them. Although it was entirely innocent her thoughts at the time hadn't been. She tried to ignore her stining hands and knees as Dimitri and Harry turned to her slightly. She smiled as she saw the relief on Harry's face. They had obviously had some good news and she just had to hope it was about Beth.

"Ruth?" Ros walked towards her. "How well do you know this Xiu?"

"She was an asset before I went away. Never let me down before." Ruth booted up the computer.

"Zaf has done some background checks." Ros answered as Ruth raised an eyebrow.

"She's never let me down in the past. And we were both nearly killed this afternoon." Ruth didn't want to get into an argument. Not now. Not when Nico and Graham were coming home.

"Ruth, trust me from experience that means nothing. Look at how often I saved that idiot's neck. Three weeks in ITU and he still turns out to be a traitor." Ros glared as Ruth nodded.

"Zaf's found something hasn't he? Something the initial background checks missed?" Ruth had inherited the asset from Fiona and was certain the background checks would have been completed properly.

"She's not to be trusted." Ros watched as Ruth lowered her eyes. "Look, I know what happened today shook you up but its a fact we can't trust her."

"On what evidence?" Ruth asked as Zaf joined them.

"Sorry Ruth but I think she set you up today. That message might be something major. But it looks as though Xiu is not what she said she was."

"How do you mean?"

"I did some background checks, talked to people in the Embassy. She's related to Lee Wong."

"What?" Ruth felt her heart beat increase.

"She's his sister in law." Zaf looked at her as he spoke. "Xiu married his brother in 2009. He was killed in 2010. Bomb in North West China. Car blew up when he was over there visiting family."

"She set me up. So someone else deliberately tried to kill me this morning." She closed her eyes as Zaf nodded.

"Sorry mate but it looks that way."

xxxxxxxxxxx

Dimitri followed Harry into his office as he tried to stiffle a yawn. Harry smiled sympathetically.

"Dimitri."

"I just left Beth at the hospital."

"And?"

"The doctors seem a little happier. It's early days apparently." Dimitri sat down as Harry waved a hand at the chair in front of him.

"She's off the life support?"

"Yeah." Dimitri smiled slightly. "They are worried about there being some brain damage. The fact she remembers me and that she can talk seems positive but she had a substantial bleed on the brain, whatever that means." Dimitri watched as Harry's eyes darkened. "I don't think she'll be back at work, at least while this op is live."

"Of course." Harry didn't want to think of the bubbly and fiesty blonde not being back on the Grid. She reminded him of Jo and Helen before her. Both seemingly as hard as nails. Until you got to know them.

"Harry."

"Are you ok Dimitri?" Harry suddenly realised how tired the younger man looked. How heartbroken he seemed.

"Me? Yeah." He smiled slightly. "I was hoping to be able to spend more time at the hospital. I mean, as much time as possible."

"You have some leave due. Look, from experience." Harry's eyes immediately darted to Ruth who was beginning to look worried as she sat talking to Ros and Zaf. He frowned slightly. "There are more important things than this place. Work 9-5, spend the rest of the time with Beth. At least until she is well enough to get sick of you."

"Thanks."

"Oh and Dimitri." Harry looked up as Dimitri reached the door.

"Yes Boss." Dimitri looked towards him.

"If you are working 9-5 you are Grid bound unless absolutely necessary." Dimitri nodded. He knew that was the only way he could almost guarentee being with Beth every visiting time. He smiled slightly, knowing he would hate being confined to base but he knew she was worth it. He nodded once more before closing the door and heading across to Tariq and the others to fill them in on how their friend was doing. Harry turned back to his paperwork as he wondered that had caused Ruth to look so worried.

xxxxxxxxxx

Graham loved the sunshine. He immediately understood why people came to live in Cyprus but the more he heard about the family Nico had come from the more he was relieved he was bringing the young boy back to the UK to live with Harry and Ruth. He smiled slightly as he realised Nico was watching him as they sat waiting for their plane to be announced. It was time to go home and start family life again. He turned to the teenager as he thought about how he was going to persuade Teresa to stay in London for as long as possible.

"You ok?"

"Yes." Nico looked away for a moment.

"Nervous?"

"What if Harry doesn't like me? What if I make things bad for him and Ruth?" He stared into the can of pop he was holding as Graham sighed.

"Those two." He smiled as he thought of his father and step mother. "They were made for each other. Look, I know my dad. He can be a stubborn, stroppy pain in the backside but he loves Ruth. He never would have said yes to you coming over, or gone all out to make sure it was the right thing if he didn't think it was. You've no worries on that score." Graham watched as the younger boy sighed.

"Really?"

"Really." Graham watched as Terri approached them.

"Flight is due soon. No more delays." She smiled as Nico looked at his feet. "Nic?"

"I'm ok." He was uncharicteristically quiet. Teresa exchanged glances with Graham.

"Is that why you asked the Mother Superior to write to Dad rather than Ruth? Incase he said no?" Graham watched as Nico shrugged.

"I knew Ruth would say yes. But I didn't want to make her choose. I know everyone said I had to come back to live with Auntie Anna and Uncle Costas but I wanted to stay in London with Ruth. I didn't want to come home when my father died." Graham rested a hand on his shoulder as he cried. "No one listened to me or Ruth."

"I know." Graham squeezed his shoulder. "Better late than never eh? We're listening now."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Beth stared out the window of the intensive care unit. She hated being in hospital. The smells and the sickness made her depressed. All the times she had visited hospitals were because the people she cared about had been badly hurt. She remembered walking into a hospital with her Gran only to be told her parents were already dead. Then her Gran had developed breast cancer and died shortly afterwards. Years later Ruth, Malcolm and Dimitri had all been hospitalised. Hospitals equalled injury, fear and death as far as she was concerned. Now she was stuck there. She smiled slightly as she looked at the Get Well cards from Wes, Emma and the others. Even Malcolm had visited. She really hadn't expected that, especially with the wedding happening so soon. She couldn't help but smile as she thought of the aging techi who had taken her and the newer recruits under his wing.

"Beth?" The nurse smiled as she called her name. "Your young man called. He says he's coming to see you later."

"Oh." Beth smiled slightly. She nodded before turning back to the window. She ached in places she never knew she had but there was no way she was going to correct the nurse as she had Henry last Christmas. As far as she could remember Dimitri was her 'young man' as Henry and the nurse had referred to him as. She only hoped he still felt the same after everything.

"So, the sooner we move you from ITU the better. I am arranging for you to be transfered to the High Care Unit. One step from the ward."

"Ok." Beth nodded. She was too tired to ask anymore. All that mattered was Dimitri was coming to see her.

xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Zoe walked along the Embankment with Adam as the asset they were going to meet leant against the wall overlooking the Thames and the Houses of Parliament. It was then Zoe had a sudden feeling she knew exactly what Nightingale were targeting next. Adam frowned as he realised she was uneasy.

"You alright?"

"Yeah." Zoe answered on reflex.

"What is it Zoe?" Adam knew she was worried about something. The forlorn figure his asset made in the distance did nothing to ease the sudden sense of dread that was building in the pit of his stomach.

"Saturday."

"The day these idiots seem to want to warn us about." Adam nodded as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"There's a march on Saturday. Some student/public sector cuts/stop the war march. I don't know which, but it's this Saturday." Zoe tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she spoke.

"I know. I'm on duty. I'll be marching in the crowds." Adam shrugged.

"And Zaf. Beth was supposed to be there, apparently Alec has offered to fill in for her." Zoe rolled her eyes. She wasn't fond of the current interloper.

"Yeah. He's ok. Hope it isnt a student rally. He's knocking on a bit." Adam smiled cheekily as Zoe huffed.

"That's the target. Or at least one of them. Some idiots always seem to kick off and cause maximum damage while innocent people just want to protest." Zoe watched as Adam nodded. "Perfect cover if you ask me. Everyone is going to be watching the march, looking for any trouble makers. What about the rest of London? What about that place over there? Who's going to be looking for trouble where you wouldn't expect it?" He had to admit Zoe had a point. He only hoped that meeting with his asset Ellen Shaw could shed some light on the subject.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry slammed the phone back on his desk and swore profusely. The day had started off badly and was rapidly getting worse. He glanced out over the Grid as Ruth met his eye. His expression softened as he saw the way she was looking at him. He knew he would have to tell her and the rest of the team about Beth but at that moment he knew he had no option but to wait. Swearing again he pushed his chair back, abandoning the email from the Home Secretary's office and marched towards the main Grid.

"Ros."

"Yes."

"With me. Now." Ros rolled her eyes as Adam and Zaf looked up from the surveilance they were looking at.

"Harry, what is it?" Ros was at his side as they reached the pods. Both were aware of Lucas and Ruth watching them.

"Security have just called. Mai tried to hang herself. Paramedics are in the cells with her."

"Shit." Ros muttered. "How?"

"That is what I want to know. There was nothing in there she could hurt herself with." Harry marched along the corridor. "I saw to it."

"A hired assasin isnt going to go to trial. When in doubt its best to get yourself out of the situation permanently." Ros hissed as her heels clicked on the floor. She was furious. Harry nodded.

"And if you want her silenced."

"You think someone tried to kill her? Who? In a cell in Thames House?" Ros watched as Harry stopped and raised an eyebrow.

"Ben was killed here."

"I know that Harry. I was there when he was found, if you remember." Ros pushed the door to the cell open as paramedics pushed past her carrying a stretcher with Mai on out of the building.

"Ok, I buy someone tried to kill her." Ros nodded "Who?"

"That's where I may be able to help." Lucas stated as both Harry and Ros turned to them. Stan stood next to Lucas with both hands in his pockets.

"Ah." Stan nodded as Harry walked towards them.

"Go on." Harry was in no mood for nonsense.

"An hour ago I had a phone call." Stan stated. "A family member of the lady in there. She said she knew we had her in the cells and she hoped we were looking after the little bird."

"And?" Ros narrowed her eyes.

"Nightingale knew we had her. Little bird? Nightingales arent that big are they?" Lucas backed up Stan's argument. Harry nodded.

"Get me the tape recording. Have Tariq and Malcolm look at it." Harry stormed back towards the Grid. "Arrange for Mai to have security on her at all times. If someone tried to kill her here then a hospital will pose no problem at all."

Stan shifted uneasily. He rarely worked with anyone on anything. He glanced at the two remaining officers before nodding towards the front entrance of Thames House. "I'll get that recording for you." He disappeared before Lucas or Ros could answer.

"Ros."

"What?" Ros was back in full Ice Queen Mode.

"If she was targeted by Nightingale that only means one thing." Lucas watched as Ros nodded slightly.

"Someone here is in Nightingale. Someone in this building is doing their dirty work. I don't like it Lucas." She shuddered as she thought of Connie. The traitor that had fooled them all for so many years.

Lucas touched her hand as she leant against the wall of the corridor. She was furious. _Someone here knew Ruth was meeting Xiu. Someone here knew Mai was in the cells, that she was our best link to Nightingale. Someone here wants us scared. _She turned back to her husband as he stood calmly facing her. He could see how angry she was.

"Ros."

"Lucas, we have a traitor in Thames House. Someone here is on the payroll for MI5 and Nightingale." She watched as he nodded slightly. The thought made her feel sick, but she knew it wouldn't be the first time.

"Who?" Lucas leant close to her, his voice so low that he was certain no one would be able to hear him.

"That." She paused as she looked up into his eyes "Is what I am going to find out."

**A/N Next chapter is Saturday. Nico and Graham finally come home. Is there really a traitor at Thames House? What are they going to do? Who is it? Is everyone in Section D to be trusted? Will they all survive the weekend and can Beth rely on Dimitri being there for her as she fights to get back on her feet? Please review.**


	30. Family Planning?

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. Thankyou all for the reviews. xx**

**Family Planning.**

Harry glared at his desk. He knew exactly what the attack on Mai meant. She had been attacked in broad daylight in Thames House. He stared at the polished mahogany desk as he tried to quell his anger. There was a distinct possibility that there was a Nightingale operative working in Thames House. In Section D. He felt sick as he remembered the murder of Ben when Connie had betrayed him. Of Tessa's betrayal and then Juliet. He remembered the way so many people had sold out to ideas that had lead to the death and distruction of so many innocent people. He slammed his whiskey glass on his desk as he remembered it was betrayal that had lead to a murder in Thames House, to Ruth being held hostage years earlier. Now Andrew Lincoln and Christine Dale were in the cells below Thames House while Mai Yung fought to stay alive. He sighed heavily and rubbed a hand over his face as Ruth walked in.

"Harry."

"Yes." Harry snapped as Ruth nodded. She knew when to leave him alone. The tone in his voice certainly suggested he wanted to be alone. She was about to close the door and leave him to his quiet anger before he turned. "Sorry. It's just. It's.."

"Happening again?"

"I think so."

"No." Ruth walked back in. "No it isnt. It's just being made to look like it is. Tariq and Malcolm are going through the CCTV footage of the front entrance of the building and the cameras in the corridor outside the cells. Unless someone is very fast and very good those tapes have not been doctored. No one went in and no one went out of that cell until the alarm was raised."

"How?"

"I have no idea." Ruth stared at the carpet.

"But."

"But I think we need to talk to Andrew again. He was having an affair with her at the same time he was with Christine."

"All that with being a traitor." Harry shook his head.

"And people say men can't multi task." Ruth smiled cheekily as Harry crossed the room to her.

"I'll show you multi tasking." He pulled her into his arms as he spoke. Ruth couldn't help the smile that crept over her face as she felt his hand slip under her shirt on to her bare back.

"Harry." She smiled slightly as he looked at her in all innocence. She knew he was anything but.

"Ruth." He returned the smile as she closed her eyes.

"It's going to be alright. Isn't it?" He brushed a stray strand of brown hair from her face as he nodded, before kissing her chastely on the lips.

"Yes. Ruth. It is going to be alright." Harry had a feeling she wasn't just talking about the threat of a traitor in Thames House. Breaking apart he checked his watch. In six hours Nico, Graham and his friend Teresa would be in the UK. He just hoped it would be alright, he knew he wanted to make it work as much as possible. Ruth touched his face gently as she realised what he was thinking.

"Harry." She whispered as he looked up to meet her eyes. "You're right. It's going to be ok."

"Yes, I think Graham going to Cyprus and bringing an ex nun home with him has to be a good sign." Harry watched as Ruth rolled her eyes. _Was there no woman safe from the Pearce men? _She shook her head.

"And I really don't think there is a traitor here. I just can't see how it is possible." Ruth held his hand in her smaller ones as he sighed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ros walked next to Lucas as they approached the hospital where Mai had been taken. Ros was rapidly loosing her temper. She wanted to end the case as quickly as possible. Part of her hoped they would end Nightingale once and for all but the realistic part of her knew the most likely outcome would be to disarm the UK wing and make sure the neighbouring Intel Services knew what the risk was.

"Lucas, I do not like this." Ros almost spat the words out.

"Someone tried to murder Mai."

"Why and how?"

"I have no idea."

"Lucas." Ros stopped. "You know as well as I do that no one entered the cell until the call went out that she was injured. Someone getting into the cell is nigh on impossible." She clenched her jaw as she spoke. Every cell in her body seemed to be on edige. The phone call from Tariq gingerly stating that there was no way anyone could have tried to kill Mai apart from herself had done nothing to ease Ros' demeanour.

"And Zoe thinks the target is something rather than someone." Lucas answered.

"Well, if they were trying to silence this stupid woman I think its about time we impressed the need for her to start talking." Ros pushed the door to the hospital open as Lucas glanced over his shoulder. He couldn't help but think someone was watching, waiting, somewhere in the background.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"And you are sure about this?" Zoe's cut glass accent jarred as the woman next to her leant on the wall opposite the Thames.

"I said I was." The Geordie accent was unmistakable.

"When and where?" Adam leant with his back on the wall, staring intently on the skinny dark haired woman next to him. She had been his asset since before Fiona had died but he knew she never told him her real name. He knew she knew he lied about his own.

"Saturday, look man, it's all kicking off."

"Ok." Zoe paused. "I need names and times. Saturday isn't enough of a clue."

"Aye." The woman nodded. "But listen, this is the last time I can come to you. I'm dead after this."

"We will look after you." Adam stated confidently. "You are going to be fine."

"Aye, well that's as maybe." She paused. "But being looked after aint enough. Not with these people."

"Talk to me." Zoe glared. Adam couldn't believe she was being so cold. Right then she gave Ros and Beth a run for their money. He had always thought of Zoe Reynolds as the quieter one on the Grid. He watched as her eyes never left his asset. The smaller woman could never have looked away had she tried.

"Saturday. When the march is on. House of Commons. Bank Of England and the Treasury. Simulatenously hit. British is plunged into chaos and bankruptcy."

"Bloody hell." Adam answered. He knew it was too much. There was no way Section D was going to be able to handle it on their own. He let out a sigh as Zoe raised an eyebrow. She didn't believe what she was hearing. He did.

"Thanks." He touched Zoe's arm as the asset nodded and stared at the unwelcoming water below the Thames.

"Aye." She sighed as Zoe and Adam walked away. She couldn't help but smile as she realised Adam had slipped something into her pocket. Digging in her duffle coat she pulled it out and smiled. A bus ticket. Newcastle. Adam was sending her home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruth stared at the cold tile floor. There had been a good amount of progress in the investigation. Adam and Zoe had identified a target. Tariq and Malcolm had gleaned answers from the CCTV and Dimitri had managed to get to Beth straight after work. She smiled slightly as she realised it was Beth and Dimitri who had the most relaxed relationship on the Grid. There was no drama around them. THey had just seemed happy. Ruth sighed. In a way that made what had happened to Beth even worse. The happy go lucky girl had vanished. Ruth had realised that on her first visit to her friend. Beth was scared. And nervous. Not the Beth Bailey that had wrestled with a Christmas Tree months before while trying to convince everyone to lighten up. She shook her head as she felt Harry rest a hand on the small of her back.

"Ruth"

"Just thinking."

"Oh you do surprise me." Harry smiled as the crowds began to jostle past them. Ruth rolled her eyes.

"About Beth and Dimitri."

"Ah, yes I called the hospital. She's beginning physiotherapy tomorrow. I asked about psychological counselling but Tring seems inappropriate."

"It is." Ruth remembered Adam's horror story after he had been sent there following Fiona's death. She knew Harry had thought about sending Ros there after Jo had died. She was glad he hadn't. Ros would have left the counsellors needing therapy.

"Yes."

"Harry, Beth has us. Her friends and Dimitri. She's going to be back on the Grid."

"Ruth." Harry didn't have the heart to tell her about Beth's depression, the change in personality and the intermittent memory loss. He had no idea if Beth would ever be well enough to return to Thames House. That made him hate Andrew Lawrence even more. It was then the tannoy drowned out all the noise in the airport.

"THE FLIGHT ARRIVING AT TERMINAL 3 IS THE 22:00 FLIGHT FROM CYPRUS"

Ruth bit her bottom lip as Harry smiled. She met his eyes as he rested a hand on her cheek.

"This is it Ruth." She nodded. "Our boys are home."

**A/N Not sure about this chapter. Please review.**


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer I do not own Spooks. No copyright infringement intended. Thankyou all for the reviews. xx**

**The Boys are Back.**

Ros glared at the woman in the hospital bed. She tuned out all the beeps and noises from the hospital equipment and stared at the frail looking chinese woman. It was hard to believe the petite woman lying in bed, asleep was the woman who had killed the real Maria Chen and dumped her body in the boot of a car. Lucas watched as Ros sat down.

"You know who I am." Ros started. Lucas stood behind her.

Mai opened her eyes and glared at Ros. It was clear both women knew how to put on the Ice Queen routine. Lucas stepped back and leant against the room door, knowing the police were outside the room standing guard. He watched as his wife as she stared the other woman down. Lucas knew Mai was going to be the one to give way. Ros was never going to let the woman win. He knew it just wasnt in her nature.

"Mai." Lucas started as her eyes flickered to him. "Who tried to hurt you?"

The woman remained silent as she stared at him. He knew that unless they got her to talk there was no way either of them were going to find out what had happened. Both knew cameras could be doctored and they had both seen too many fakes to know that there was a very good chance there was someone out there who was able to fake the video. Lucas could see Ros was loosing patience rapidly as she sat staring at the woman in the bed.

"Answer him."

"You already know so much." Mai answered before turning her face away and staring at the bland wall opposite. Lucas glanced as his feet as he tried and failed to compose himself. The small woman in the bed brought so much trouble to him, his family and friends he was no longer worried about his temper, but that of his friends.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Ruth stared at Harry as the announcer repeated the message that the flight from Cyprus had landed. He smiled slightly as he saw how nervous she had suddenly become. For a moment he wondered if he had done the right thing, but seeing Ruth smile slightly as she bit her lip convinced him he had been right to reply to the young boy. He returned the smile as she met his eyes.

"It's ok Ruth. It's me that should be nervous."

"You've done this before. Lived with teenagers. It's me that's learning from scratch. Harry, the lives we lead. How can I keep him safe from that?" Ruth was beginning to babble. She took a deep breath as Harry held her hand.

"Ruth, how does Adam cope? Zoe, Ros? We cope. And I am just as nervous as you. Nico told me he doesn't resent us for what happened to his father but I know some part of him believes it was my fault. Because it was." He watched as Ruth shook her head. "Anyway how hard can it be? He has to be more mature than Graham."

"Thanks for that Dad." Graham clapped his father's shoulder as Harry rolled his eyes. It seemed Harry wasn't the only man in the family that could appear as if from no where. Harry rolled his eyes as he turned around to face his son.

"Welcome home." He watched as the younger man smiled. Not for the first time Ruth noticed the similarities between father and son. Graham frowned as he noticed the bruise and abrasions on Ruth's face before raising an eyebrow at this father. Ruth hadn't noticed him watching her, she was too busy hugging Nico as if her life depended on it. Harry smiled.

"You alright son?"

"Yes Dad. Oh this is Teresa." He stepped back as Harry shook the younger woman's hand. Ruth smiled and released Nico.

"Hi." Ruth looked at the petite woman Graham had befriended.

"Ruth." Nico looked up as once again Ruth marvelled at how tall he had grown, how grown up he appeared compared to the small boy she had known.

"Yes." She smiled slightly, still unable to believe he was there.

"What happened to your face?" Harry took a deep breath. There was nothing like the honesty of children to bring you back to reality. They still had a major terrorist threat to deal with. London was still in danger.

"I fell. A couple of days ago. There's a park near where Harry and I work. I was sat on the bench and I fell." Ruth shrugged as if throwing herself and Xiu out of the path of a gunman was as everyday as buying milk. Nico frowned and glanced at Harry.

"You used to fall alot in Cyprus." He narrowed his eyes as Harry felt a sudden urge to kill Nico's father. If he hadn't already been dead he wasn't sure he wouild have been able to keep his temper. He had suspected George had been violent but he had no idea to what extent. Ruth rested a hand on Nico's shoulders as they walked out of the airport towards Harry's car.

"I know I did." Ruth sighed. She knew Nico had seen and heard more than she had wanted him too. She remembered him screaming at his father to stop hitting her as she had laid across their bed. To the outside world George was a good doctor that cared about his patients. At home he was different. He had been kind and considerate at first but had soon changed, thinking Ruth was his property, if she so much as disagreed with him it had caused an argument. More often than not it had resulted in Ruth having to tell people she was injured in a fall or had walked into a door. "This time it's true. I promise you Nico. Harry has never touched me. Not like that."

"Right."

Harry watched as the young boy nodded. He knew gaining the teenager's trust was going to be an uphill struggle. One he had lost with his own children at that age, he wondered briefly if he could win this time.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Adam stared at the computer screen. He wanted to go home but the idea that the March on Saturday was either a target or a distraction was worrying him. He knew he was supposed to be in the crowd but couldn't help but think his and Zaf's time would be better used if they stayed with the rest of Section D. The words on the screen began to merge into one as Zaf placed a coffee on his desk.

"Alright mate?" Adam looked up.

"You are in danger of turning into Harry."

"What?" Adam smirked slightly.

"Here. Working. Middle of night. Son and pregnant girlfriend at home. I think I smell history repeating itself." Zaf watched as Adam looked at the desk.

"No mate." Adam took a deep breath. "Carrie and Wes are great. She's got her scan on Wednesday next week. 12 weeks. Can you believe it's three months already?" He smiled. Carrie was the second chance he never thought he would have. After Fiona he really didn't think he could feel anything for any other woman. That part of him had died when his wife had. Now he had his son back, a girlfriend who loved him as much as he loved her and a baby on the way. There was no way he was going to mess that up.

"But you are still here." Zaf pointed out.

"Yeah, look the scan is on Wednesday. 4pm." He paused. "I intend to be there. But I also intend London to still be there. Get through this op and I am taking some leave. I am finally using up my annual leave this year. Two weeks. Me, Caz and Wes."

"Sounds good." Zaf smiled. "Now, you reckon the target is the Treasury?"

"Yeah." Adam rubbed his forehead as he realised how tired he was. "Yeah I think it is."

"So what do we do?" Zaf perched against Ruth's desk and sipped his own coffee, wishing he had worked out where Ruth hid the good stuff these days.

"We stop them Zaf. Andrew Lawrence still has alot of explaining to do. Don't you think?" He stood up as a smile crept across Zaf's face. He knew exactly what Adam was thinking. His friend had written the book on interrogation, and lived through it a few thousand times himself. After Ros and Harry had interviewed him Andrew was going to think they were the good cops once Zaf and Adam had finished.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dimitri smiled as he walked into the hospital room where Beth was being nursed. The bandages on her head had been lessened a little so she looked a little more like her old self. She smiled slightly in return as he sat next to her.

"Hi." She smiled shyly before looking at her hands. He shook his head. This wasn't the same Beth Bailey that had exploded onto the Grid and into his heart. Carefully he touched her hand as she looked up at him.

"Hi."

"You ok?"

She nodded. In reality she was anything but. Dimitri smiled as she threaded her fingers through his.

"See." She raised an eyebrow as he spoke. "Physiotherapy is already working. Now you are holding my hand instead of the other way around."

"Dim." She smirked as she rolled her eyes. A little of the old Beth was there, just under the surface fighting to get out. "The Gr-rid?"

"That lot? Driving me nuts. Hate it without you there." She smiled more at his words. "Harry barks at everyone. Disappears to scream at the Home Secretary. I think he picks his rants when he picks his tie in the morning. Zoe and Zaf are sickenly in love. Zaf's ok but Zoe is turning into the Ice Queen, I mean she is seriously giving Ros a run for her money. Even threatened Adam's asset. You know the Geordie girl?"

"Zoe?" Beth stared at him. He wasn't sure if she remembered Zoe but he ploughed on regardless.

"Adam, Ros and Lucas are acting as if all this Nightingale are personally attacking us and Ruth is verging on a nervous breakdown. I swear if it wasn't for Tariq and Malcolm she'd have a heart attack. You know she and Harry are adopting her step son?"

"Married?"

"Ruth? Yeah before. Sort of I think. But yeah. Zoe told me the boy has been left an orphan and they are adopting him. Not sure Harry knows what he is letting himself in for." He squeezed her hand as she rested her head back on the pillow. He had only been there for ten minutes and she was exhausted.

"I should go."

Beth shook her head and held his hand tighter, rooting him to the spot. He went to sit back down but moved across to sit next to her as she fidgeted on the bed to make room for him.

"I want." She started as he wrapped an arm around her. "My life back."

"You'll be fine Beth. You'll get it."

"Umm"

"You will. I know you Beth Bailey. You are coming home and back to the Grid." He kissed the top of her head as she closed her eyes. He closed his own eyes, just for a moment as he tightened his hold on Beth. He wanted her home, he needed her to get well but he had no idea if she felt the same way. The last few months they had flirted around each other, dated and she had even said she loved him but he wasn't sure if she meant it. Right then he knew. He loved Beth Bailey and would do anything to make sure she knew it. He kissed her hair again as she rested a hand on his abdomen.

"Dim?"

"I'm here." He whispered into her hair.

"Good." He smiled as a little of her old determination crept back. "I can't walk in a straight line. You th-think I will be able to get back on the Grid?"

"You will." He began rubbing circles on her bare arm. "I know you too well. You fought for that job." He didn't say the thought of her back in the field nearly killed him.

"I meant it." Beth smiled slightly as Dimitri tensed.

"Meant what?"

"You. I love you." Beth blushed furiously as she spoke. Dimitri felt as though a weight had been taken from him.

"Yeah? Good job I'm in love with you too. Now if you'd just hurry up and get better instead of laying in bed all day."

"Cheeky sod."

"Yeah but you love me. Remember?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nico sat on the sofa in the living room as Scarlet curled up in his lap. The small terrier had decided she liked the new arrival and was curled into him as Harry smiled slightly. If Scarlet liked someone there was a good chance that person was one of the good guys. Scarlet had promptly fallen asleep as soon as her head had hit the young boy's lap. Charlie had been asleep in his car seat throughout the whole arrival, only shifting slightly when Catherine had picked him up. Her and Teresa seemed to hit it off and Catherine was enjoying teasing her brother about corrupting a woman of God. Teresa had taken it well. Now Ruth was in the kitchen with Catherine making coffee as Harry wandered into the living room.

"You must be tired." Harry sat next to the teenager.

"Bit."

"I wanted to say something. You know, just to set the record straight. It's about me and Ruth." Harry knew he had to say something before the boy got the wrong idea permanently etched in his mind.

"Ok."

"I have a job which means I am away alot. So does Ruth. It's mostly boring but there are times when we are in situations where we have to act fast. Ruth's bruises are as a result of that. She did fall in the park. What she didn't tell you was she was saving a woman's life at the time." Harry watched as the boy's eyes widened.

"Woah."

"Yes. Exactly. And just so you know I have never and I will never put my hands on a woman. Not my first wife, and certainly not Ruth."

"Ok."

"Nico."

"It's Nick. I'm not a baby anymore." He smiled slightly as Harry nodded.

"No, and as such I am telling you this. I love Ruth. Always have, always will. For that reason I will do my best never to hurt her. You understand that? We might argue occasionally but nothing changes how I feel about her." Harry watched as Nick nodded.

"Ok." Nick stared at his hands. "Dad said he loved her but he made her cry. Alot."

"Did he? I promise you I will do my best not to make her cry. Or you. You are part of this family now. We are a little unconventional but..." He shrugged.

"It's ok. I think I'm going to bed now." Nick stood as Harry nodded. Neither had seen Ruth stood in the doorway. Nick kissed her cheek as he walked past as Harry's eyes met hers.

"How long have you been there?" Harry suddenly felt very self conscious.

"Long enough." Ruth walked towards him. "You have never knowingly made me cry Harry." She wrapped her arms around him as he rested his forehead against hers. "I think you are right. It's going to be ok. Catherine and Teresa have gone home with Charlie, Graham is snoring and I think Nick is settling in well. It's just us awake."

"So it is." Harry brushed her hair away from her face before kissing her. "So it is."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Across London a young man sat in a bedsit. In two days he would be marching through London ready and waiting to shatter the peace thousands would be marching for. He smiled as he lay on his back and stared at the ceiling. The world was changing. And he was going to be part of it.

**A/N More soon xxx**


	32. night swimming

Disclaimer: I do not own Spooks or anything related to it. Appologies for the delay in updating. It's been quite a week involving illness, laptops that break beyond repair and puppies that fall unexpectantly into my life! Anyway after so long away I hope this makes sense!

Night Swimming.

Ros stared at the sleeping toddler as she began to think about the visit to the hospital. Maria Chen had died in horrific circumstances at the hadnds of a woman half the size she was. As Amy slept on oblivious to her mother Ros began to think that half of what they were being told had been lies. She closed her eyes and sighed. Mai Yung was an intelligent and devious woman who knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it. Remind you of anyone Ros? She thought as Amy turned in her sleep. Ros turned slightly as she heard Lucas approach her carrying baby James in his arms. Ros smiled slightly at the sight. James was turning into the spitting image of his father.

"Ros." He almost whispered, unwilling to rik waking the sleeping children. Once Amy North was awake there was no getting her back to sleep.

"Don't you think it's strange?" Ros touched the baby's dark hair as he slept.

"Go on." Lucas knew he had to prompt Ros when she was in this mood. She had clearly identified with the woman in the hospital bed. Ros was the type of woman who always did what was needed too. Whatever anyone else thought. He knew the Ice Queen routine was just an act as far as she was concerned but there was something about Mai Yung that made him think she was the real thing. The woman had killed for money. He found it unbelievable that she could take a life for financial gain and show no remorse.

"These people. Andrew. That they actually think their view of the world is the right one. How many people will they kill before we stop them? Lucas, this is too big. I don't think we can stop them this time. It's just.." She looked away, unused to feeling such self doubt. She wasn't used to it. Ros Myers was confident and knew how to handle herself. Something else that makes me like her. She shook her head as Lucas reached up and brushed a strand of blonde hair away from her face.

"Ros listen to me."

"Harry was right not to trust him, I should have seen that." Ros looked at the baby sleeping peacefully in Lucas' arms.

"Ros."

"I am going to resign as Section Chief. After all this, the job is Adam's." Ros hated how broken she sounded. She loved her job. She was her job and she had worked damned hard for it but there was no way she could continue after they had failed to stop Nightingale. Beth was injured. People had died on her watch. She had to leave.

"No." Lucas was stunned. "You can't do this Ros."

"I can." Ros looked away and walked back into their bedroom. Lucas closed his eyes and sighed, hoping he could talk his wife out of making the biggest mistake of her life.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry laid quietly next to Ruth in the darkened bedroom. He couldn't help but smile as he thought of the way his life had changed. He was determined not to make the same mistakes with Nico that he had with his own children. He still couldn't quite believe he had Catherine and Graham had given him a second chance. He turned on his side as Ruth began to get restless. Half asleep he managed to decifer her mumblings. It was clear she was in the middle of another nightmare. His heart nearly broke as he stopped a hand hittting out at him.

"Ruth." He pulled her into his ams as she fell silent once more. It was moments later when he heard her whisper into the silence.

"Please. No. George no." It was then Harry knew that the young boy in the next room had seen more than he had ever imagined. That Ruth hadn't told him half of what had happened when she was away. If George hadn't been murdered, he would have killed him.

"Wake up." He shookher slightly. "Ruth its ok, its ok." She stirred a little as he spoke to her but didn't wake. He kissed her bare neck as he felt her cling to him. It was going to be a long night.

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Zoe stared at the computer screen, glad she had taken the night shift. Tariq and Dinitri were sat a few feet away staring at the papers spread out across Dimitri's desk. She knew they had missed something. Andrew Lawrence wanted them all to think he was the innocent caught up in something he didn't understand but that was too easy, too plausable that he would fall prey to a criminal mastermind. She couldn't help thinking Christine Dale knew there were going to be officers undercover at the Trade Conference and that there was a good chance that they would be officers from Section D. Was she out for revenge? Did she blame Harry and the others for Tom's behaviour at the end of his time in MI5? She couldn't help but wonder if Maria chen's murder had only been a happy coincidence from Christine's point of view. The Chinese businesswoman should have been at the Trade Conference securing a deal for the Chinese governent. She's never made it out of Hong Kong. Instead Mai Yung was there posing as her. She was still in the hospital refusing to talk to anyone unless Cathy was there. Zoe shook her head, that just made her think there was even more chance that Christine Dale was using the woman for revenge. Destroy Ruth and Harry collapses. No Harry, no Section D. Nightingale get to persue their sordid little ideology without anyone to stop them. She rubbed her eyes as Tariq walked across to them.

"Anything?" She leant on her forarms as he shook his head.

"You know these people?"

"Tariq, you weren't here for Nightingale the first time around. Neither was I."

"No, I mean." He paused. "Malcolm told me you knew Tom. You and him were friends."

"Yes, we worked together." Zoe smiled slightly as the memory of Tom sitting in the kitchen of the flat she shared with Danny came to mind.

"You knew Christine Dale."

"Only via Tom. She was CIA London Liasion." Zoe narrowed her eyes. "Harry ordered him to dump her. Before, well before he went spectacularly off the rails."

"You blame her."

"Tariq."

"He was your friend. He let you down. You blame her." Tariq watched as Zoe nodded slightly. "Like Dimitri blames himself over Beth getting hurt. Stupid but there you go."

"It's Andrew's fault Beth was hurt. No one else." Zoe glanced towards the ex SBS man as she spoke.

"Yeah." Tariq nodded. "Still hurts though. You found something?"

"Christine Dale has a Swiss back account in the name of Christine Ann Lawrence. A deposit of over $40,000 was paid in last Monday."

"Why didn't I find this?" Tariq tapped a few keys as he leaned over her shoulder. She batted his hand away.

"Because you were playing Marj Proops over there." Zoe smiled slightly. Seeing the confusion in Tariq's eyes she suddenly felt very old.

"Who?"

"Never mind. Anyway what is important is that on the same day Mai Yung left Hong Kong. Maria Chen was already dead and we know Andrew Lawrence was already in London ready to attend the conference." She smiled as Dimitri wandered over to them.

"So what now?" He asked.

"Now." Tariq beamed. "We follow the money."

"You can do that?" Zoe was amazed.

"Yup." He rolled his eyes. "That money was paid into the account. It came from somewhere. I follow the root of the IP address through the decoder and I should get the return address for the programme that sent it."

"Mate, either that was ultimate gibberish or I need more coffee." Dimitri smiled as Tariq raised an eyebrow. Zoe smiled.

"You have had enough caffeine." Zoe smirked slightly.

"OK come on then. Tariq, do your stuff." Dimitri returned the smile as Tariq sat down and began to hack into one of the most secure banking establishments on the planet. He paused for a moment as he hit the first firewall.

"Slight problem."

"Such as?" Zoe spun in the chair to face him.

"I can't do this on my own. I need a decent hacker."

"Can I help?" Zoe watched as Tariq nodded.

"Yeah, call Ruth. She's hacked this system before without leaving a calling card."  
Zoe smiled slightly, knowing he was right. It was time the day staff were informed of what they knew. She dug her mobile phone from her jacket pocket and dialled the familiar number. She could only hope it was Ruth that answered and not Harry. She knew what it was like to be on the end of Harry's bad temper when woken up. Years of Redflash calls in the middle of the night were enough to diuade her from ringing him in the middle of the night unless absolutely necessary.

Adam walked the route the march was likely to take that weekend. SkyNews and BBC24 had been speculating at the degree of trouble the planned demoonstration was supposedly going to bring to the capital city. He smiled as he shook his head as he realised how they had underestimated the headache they would cause the security services. The view across the Thames caught his eye as he began to wonder if the historic building facing him would still be there in twenty four hours. He tapped his earpiece as he watched the sun come up.

"Zoe, it's too big a route." He watched a newspaper seller open his stall as he sat on the bench a few feet away. "Too many variables. Even with CCTV covering the entire route we have to narrow it down."

"Yes." Zoe snapped. "Get back here. Harry and the others are on the way in. It's bad Adam."

"Worked that one out." He answered as he looked over at themiddle aged man laying out his newspapers. "How bad?"

"We have less than 24 hours to narrow this down to one target. We are short staffed and Ros is planning on resigning."

"She's what?" Adam snapped.

"I over heard Lucas talking to Malcom. Look I'm being sent home to get some rest but we can't let her resign. She's the best Section Chief we ever had."

"Thanks for that." Adam answered wryly.

"You know what I mean." She cut the connection as Zaf, Ruth and Harry walked through the individual pods.

"Harry." Lucas stood up as his boss neared his desk.

"Lucas." Ruth and Zaf had made their way towards their desks as Harry nodded to his field officer. "My office. If Ros has resigned then she has the decency to come to my office and tell me. She does not send her bloody husband!" He stormed off towards his office. Lucas sighed heavily.

"That's just it Harry." Lucas called out. "She was going to. Last night she told me. This morning I intended on trying to talk her out of it. But she's vanished." Suddenly all eyes were on him. Ruth bit her bottom lip.

"She's what?"

"She's gone Harry. I woke up and she had gone."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N Has Ros really left? Does she have a lead? Is Adam right? Please review.


	33. lost?

Disclaimer: I do not own Spooks.

Relate.

Ruth stared across the Grid as she watched Lucas follow Harry into his office. She could barely believe what she had heard. Ros was gone. She had planned to resign. She shook her head slightly. Her past with the Section Chief had been patchy but she considered her to be a friend. After all Ros had asked her to be godmother to her children. That had to mean she was trusted. So why disappear without a word to anyone? Why now? It was only a few days to Sarah's hen night and Malcolm's stag party. Why abandon Amy and James? What about Lucas? Surely he had to have an idea where she was. The thought the Grid's resident Ice Queen had merely vanished without a good reason didn't sit well with her. She continued to watch as Zaf placed a coffee on the desk in front of her.

"Mate, you look like Hell."

"Thanks Zaf." She rolled her eyes as she spoke.

"Ruth, what is it?" He watched as she picked up the mug.

"Ros has left."

"Yeah, I heard." He was about to continue when she glanced across to see Zoe walking towards them.

"You know Ros, she never goes AWOL without a good reason." Ruth interrupted Zaf as Zoe sat down, nursing her own mug of very strong black coffee.

"You've known her longer. Why?" Zoe started. She was desperate to go home to bed. She hadn't seen Emma since she had dropped her off at her parents before leaving for work. She couldn't understand why Ros would leave her children and husband voluntarily.

"Ros does what is needed." Zaf shrugged. "Look, she can take care of herself."

"Can she?" Zoe raised an eyebrow. "You saw the state on her. I was there during the first interview with Mai Yung. I am certain it got to her. She never said anything."

"She never would." Suddenly Zaf was worried about his friend.

"She did what any good mother would do." Malcolm announced quietly as Ruth nodded. They had both come to the same conclusion. "She left to protect the children."

"What?" Zoe was incredulous.

"She found something. Zoe you said it yourself, she identified a little too closely with Mai. She's found something, so she's trying to protect Amy and James. And us." Ruth shook her head sadly.

"That's..." Zoe shook her head.

"That gives us less than a day to find the real target, arrest those responsible and find Ros." Zaf interjected.

"She doesn't want to be found. That's why she said she was going to leave 5. She's gone dark." Malcolm answered as he saw the worry in Ruth's eyes.

##############

Ros stared at the murkey waters of the Thames and sent up a silent prayer to a God she wasn't even sure she believed in that she was doing the right thing. That if it all went wrong she would be forgiven and Lucas wouldn't end his days a single father, hating her for everything she had done. She closed her eyes and thought of Beth, not so much younger than her but laid in a hospital bed fighting to get back to the way she was before Andrew Lawrence had walked back into their lives. She thought of Ruth, still haunted by the ghost of her abusive step brother and then of Malcolm. Her friend. Despite everything Harry and Malcolm had always been just that. Her friends. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the metal railing. It would be so easy to just give up. To lean just that little bit too far forward and let herself disappear into the murky waters below. But that was too easy. Ros Myers didn't do easy. She pushed herself away from the edge and walked towards Horseguard's Parade, her asset already visible in the distance.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lucas sat in the chair opposite Harry. Both men were worried.

"She said what?" Harry didn't like what he was hearing. He knew it had taken Ros months to begin to trust Lucas after the Syria operation and the discovery of the Albany affair but Harry still hadn't quite managed to trust him. Lucas had made him feel like an idiot and some part of him wanted to blame him for Ros going dark.

"She talked about Nightingale. About how she is so similar to Mai Yung."

"I hope you put her straight on that matter." Harry glanced up to see both Zoe and Ruth glance in his direction.

"Harry," Lucas' voice was low. He was worried sick. "She said she had blood on her hands. That after this the job was Adam's. She just couldn't do it anymore."

"Did she seem?" Harry didn't want to say the words, never mind think them. "Lucas, were you worried about Ros' safety?"

"More than usual?" Lucas smirked slightly. Harry understood immediately.

"Yes."

"Honestly, not then. But now. I know Ros. She is blaming herself for not seeing what Lawrence is. For Beth getting hurt. I know her, if she isn't trying to put it right she has done something. The entire car journey here I had the radio on. Just in case, the news. Well,just in case." Lucas stared at the desk, unable to finish the sentance. Harry closed his eyes. He had the same worries. It was only a matter of time until the Ice Queen imploded.

"I am not accepting her resignation. Not until I see her stood in front of this desk with a damn good reason. Until then she is considered Section Chief. Find her." Harry dismissed Lucas, only pausing when Lucas was at the door.

"Lucas..."

"Yes Harry?" His voice was low, Harry could instantly tell he was on the verge of tears.

"We will find her."

"Yes Harry." Lucas nodded before closing the door behind him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

Beth narrowed her eyes as her headache grew steadily worse. She knew the nurses had already given her the maximum dose of painkillers they could give her. She glanced at the clock and tried to distract herself by thinking about what her friends and Dimitri would be doing.

"Beth?"

"Hi." She smiled slightly as the nurse walked in.

"Your cousin rang. Said she'd try to pop in before collecting the children later." He checked up her chart as Beth frowned.

"Cousin?"

"Rosalind."

"Oh. ok." Beth immediatly began to wonder why Ros had sent her a message. She's visited earlier in the week with Lucas but never suggested she would attend alone. If the headache hadn't been quite so distracting she would have been worried.

"Oh, your blood pressure has gone up. I'll have the doctor pop in to see you." He smiled reassuringly as Beth frowned. She knew something was very wrong and it wasn't just with her operation. Beth nodded slightly as the nurse stepped away from the bed.

"Will you do something for me?" He nodded. "Call Dimitri for me. Ask him to come please."

Beth hated the way she sounded, how dependent she had become on Dimitri. She rested her head back on the pillows and tried to forget about the length of time she had to go before she could have any more painkillers.

###########

Adam walked towards Thames House trying to work out what Zoe was on about. He had no idea why Ros would walk out on them. She was so dedicated to the service that he could see no way she would voluntarily leave. Not after Yalta. He tugged his jacket collar closer to him as he walked through the doors to Thames House. Stan nodded to him as he passed. Something had gone wrong. It was the only thing that came to mind as Dimitri barralled past him and into the street. It was Friday morning, less than 24 hours to the march and something had gone very wrong.

"Dim?" Adam called.

"Sorry, it's Beth." He yelled over his shoulder as he ran into the street. Adam shook his head, he recognised the fear in his friend's voice. Something had happened at the hospital. He shook his head. Ros was missing, Beth was injured and Dimitri was more or less out of action. And they had a major terrorist organisation working on their patch. The only answer was to ban the march. He hoped Harry could make Towers see sense and that they could stop the carnage in time.

A/N Will Ros end up in the Thames? Is Beth ok? And will tomorrow's march go ahead? Please review.


	34. Friday

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spooks**

**Friday Night**

Ros stared at the scrawny ginger haired man that had been her asset for years. She had taken him on when she had joined five, knowing he had been Fiona's asset before her. She still didn't like the man but he seemed to know an awful lot about what went on in the criminal underworld. So far his information had been mostly useful.

"Ah, you came." His soft Scottish accent irrated Ros.

"Full marks for observation." Ros glared.

"You wanted to talk to me." He stated rather than asked.

"Yeah." Ros stepped closer to him. He stood his ground but she knew he was slightly intimidated by her. The still spring air did nothing to lesson the tension in the air. "Don't mess me about."

"You know something Rach? In about an hours time your boss he's going to get a phone call. Blonde fitting your description. Tall, skinny and blonde with a face like a slapped arse is gonna be dragged out the Thames." He smiled slightly as Ros narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"Really." She paused as she loomed over him. "Tell me what I need to know or you'll be found floating next to me."

"You aint scared Rach? Dying alone in the cold, murky water?" He goaded her.

"Dying has never scared me." He met her gaze as she spoke. "Listen to me Gregor. Tell me about the March tomorrow. Tell me about Robert Well's apparent resurecction and I may just let you leave here with your testicles where nature intended them." Ros spoke calmly as she held his gaze. Gregor looked away first. Ros knew she had him.

"Robert Wells." Gregor shook his head. "Nasty piece of work you are asking me about. I was in the Guards with him. Didn't like him. Married some girl called Angela but was always playing about behind her back. Always chasing younger women. Girls really." He looked at the floor. Ros waited. She already knew what he was telling her.

"And?"

"And he died. Got to be about ten years ago." Gregor shrugged.

"No." Ros kept her voice deceptively calm. She knew the scrawny Scotsman was keeping something from her. He knew more than he was telling her. "He died a few weeks ago. Self inflicted gunshot wound to the head."

"Bloody hell. You knew?"

"Yes. What I want to know is why?"

"He." Gregor paused. "He met some woman years ago. I mean before he took up with his wife. An American bird. I think her name was Samantha. He called her Sam. Had some dealings in Russia for a while. He was on the take." Gregor sighed heavily. "He was good at what he did. Suddenly some young girl was refusing to have anything to do with him. He had been warned off her."

"Who was this?"

"Dunno, pretty little thing though. Alot younger. He asked me to drive to her university. I told him to eff off. She was a kid. Didn't need him hanging round. Anyway I told him to leave her be. Or I'd smack some sense into him. The next thing I heard he was dead."

"He was reported to have killed himself after the deaths ..." Ros left the sentance unfinished. She remembered what Adam and Ruth had told her of the Angela Wells fiasco. Adam still had a considerable scar on his chest wall. He seemed to have scared badly considering the gunshot had been a clean entry wound. It was the exit wound that had caused the damage. Ros tried to work out how old Ruth would have been in 1997. 26? 25? Too old Ros decided to be the girl at university. It seemed her step brother had moved on to other young women. Ros felt sick at the thought of it.

"Why did he come back?"

"Unfinished business? I dunno. I had heard he was in China. Met some wee lass there." Ros had a feeling everything led back to the two women they had arrested. Christine Dale and Mai Yung were really calling the shots. "Said there was alot of money to be made by changing the world. That his friend was already making alot of money. He just had to kill someone first."

"Kill someone?"

"Yeah. He reckoned it was hard to get done for murder when you were already dead."

"Gregor." Ros began before she felt the unwavering tip of a knife against her abdomen. She wanted to roll her eyes but the tip of the knife was already digging in her pale flesh.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry watched as Alec took a seat next to Tariq. He couldn't help but smile as he knew Alec had no clue what Tariq was doing. He was also extremely proud that the young man had recovered so well from his ordeal with Andrew Lawrence. Now he knew the young techie was determined to put Andrew Lawrence behind bars for a very long time.

"Harry." Lucas walked across the Grid.

"No news as yet. Malcolm is going through the CCTV cameras. Ros knows how to avoid them but then she may just pop up on them somewhere." Harry watched as Lucas nodded. The younger man had always been pale but now he looked almost transparent. They all knew Ros was more than capable of taking care of herself but only a few knew how she took everything to heart. It wasn't just Dimitri blaming himself for Beth's injuries.

"Yeah." He paused as he heard Ruth slam the phone down. She looked on the verge of tears. "Ruth?"

Ruth shook her head as she avoided his gaze. She couldn't believe the news her contact in the Met had told her. She stared at the desk for a moment, knowing both Lucas and Harry were watching her.

"Just something I have to check." She pushed her chair away from the desk.

"Ruth?" Harry started as Zoe jogged over to them.

"Sorry." She interupted. "Just got off the phone from Dimitri. Beth isn't well."

"That's why she is in hospital." Harry snapped. Zoe raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Funny I wouldn't have guessed." Zoe snapped as Lucas and Ruth exchanged glances. "She's back in theatre. She has a blood clot on her brain. If she survives then it'll be a miracle."

Ruth swore as tears filled her eyes. It was too much. First the news about Ros and then the news about Beth. She just couldn't take it anymore. "Dimitri?"

"He says he is staying with her. That the nurse said she had left a parcel for Ros. Information that she wanted." Zoe shrugged.

"The profile." Lucas smiled slightly. "She was working on a profile of the target. Look, I'll go to the hospital. Check on Dimitri." He pushed himself away from the desk as Ruth refused to meet the men's eyes. Harry waited until Zoe had returned to her desk and Lucas was safely out of the Pods.

"Ruth. My office. Now."

##############################################

Adam stared across the water at the Houses of Parliament and smiled slightly. The ancient austere building had been the subject of more myths and legend than anywhere else he knew. The base of UK government had also been threatened more times than he could remember. It seemed strange that it was only the Guy Fawkes attack that people seemed to remember. He dug his mobile phone out of his pocket and hit the speed dial.

"Zaf?"

"Yeah?" His friend walked along Oxford Street as he tried to avoid the various shoppers and tourists.

"You reckon we're right?"

"Look mate." Zaf looked along the street as he spoke. "Christine Dale got that money from somewhere. The more we dig the less I like this. Andrew Lawrence tried to kill us. I want to get to the bottom of this." He smiled at the blonde who walked past him in a short skirt. He tried to ignore how much he liked to 'window shop' and returned his attention back to Adam. "Sorry, bad line."

"Really? That happens alot with you. Should ask Malcolm to look at the phone for you." Adam joked. He knew the lack of phone signal was in Zaf's imagination. He knew it had more to do with girls wearing short skirts in the unseasonable weather.

"Yeah. Look, meet me in the book shop opposite the Uni in half hour. If tomorrow's protest is about student cuts I want to know what the real protestors are going to be like." Zaf spoke as Adam unlocked his car and stepped in.

"There will always be a rent-a-mob element to these things." Adam sighed.

"Yeah, but there isn't usually someone from Nightingale involved. Look I did a little digging and asked Ruth to double check." He spoke. "Christine Dale knew Sarah Caulfield."

"What?"

"They both went to the same uni. Both studied politics and Eastern European studies. ASk Ruth."

"Why is this any use?" Adam was already starting the engine.

"Leverage over Andrew? Sarah was a nasty piece of work."

"She's dead." Adam stated the obvious. "Gunshot wound to the forehead."

"Yeah. Bit convienient." Zaf spoke quietly as he looked along the street. "Look, didn't Ros say he blamed her for not stopping the bomb? At the Peace Talks?"

"That was ages ago." Adam had read the reports about the bomb, had heard half of it second hand. He knew Ros felt Adam blamed her for the injuries he had sustained during the bomb blast, he knew Ros blamed herself. "Zaf. What if Lawrence and Christine are involved in this out of revenge? What if the attitude we've had off him is guilt rather than blame?"

"Adam it's 7pm on Friday night. The march is in less than 12 hours."

"Get back to Thames House. I'll meet you there." Adam hung up the phone and drove towards Thames House. The more that he thought about it the more he could see that Andrew Lawrence wasn't the big man he thought he was. It still seemed to come back to Christine and Mai. He didn't know why and he didn't really know how but everything seemed to lead back to them. The more he thought about it the more he worried about Ros. Her going dark made her more vulnerable and he knew Ros knew that.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ruth." Harry closed the door behind him as she wrung her hands together. She remained quiet, knowing that she had to formulate her thoughts before her mouth took over. Harry turned to face her. When it became clear she wasn't going to say anything without being prompted he took a step towards her. "Ruth. What is it?"

"I have to check some information. I told you that."

"Information about Ros." Harry watched as she looked at the hardwood desk. "Ruth." He tilted her chin so she had to look at him.

"My contact in Special Branch wanted to give us advance warning, before you get the phone call. I mean with Lucas in the field it's going to be you that gets the phone call. She named you as her emergency contact." Ruth swallowed hard.

"Ruth." Harry felt the familar stab of fear radiate in the pit of his stomach. Ros was probably the best friend as well as the best Section Chief he had ever had.

"Claire said there has been a body pulled out of the Thames. It's just a rumour at the moment but the local radio have picked up the story." Ruth watched as Harry nodded. "The body is said to be that of a female fitting Ros' description." Ruth hated the words coming out of her mouth. Harry stared at her as if she had lapsed back into Mandarin. Neither heard the Pods whoosh open or Malcolm talking aminatedly.

"Lucas isn't going to ID the body. Not until we know for certain." Harry stated as the door to his office opened. "BLOODY KNOCK!" Harry barked before turning his attention to the intruder.

"Lucas isn't identifying what body?" Ros stood in the doorway as Ruth's jaw dropped open. "What the bloody hell is going on?"

"You died."

"Yeah." Ros answered. "So did half the team at one point or another. I have the intel that links Mai Yung with Andrew and Wells." She watched Ruth for any sign of a reaction. Harry shook his head and smiled slightly.

"Good. But if you aren't dead in the water, who is?"

"No one." Ros stared at him. "Harry, I certainly am not the first woman to fake it." Ruth couldn't help but smile as Harry coloured a little.

"Ring Lucas." He barked before picking up the phone that was ringing on his desk. "Yes Home Secretary."

Ros and Ruth exchanged glances before leaving the office.

Dimitri sat on the hard plastic chair just outside the Neuro Intensive Care Unit. Beth had been in theatre when he had arrived and he was cursing himself for taking too long to get to her. He didn't look up as Lucas sat next to him.

"What happened?"

"Her blood pressure shot up. She had a headache" Dimitri stared at the floor. "Doctor said they did a scan and saw the clot. They did a crainiotomy."

"Brain surgery again."

"Yeah."

"Shit"

"Yeah."

"Zoe said she had something for Ros." Lucas looked at him. Dimitri nodded.

"She wanted to help. She had her Iphone with her so she was able to get online. She did a little digging and came up with some information from her contacts in the private sector." Dimitri handed him the phone. Lucas sighed as he thought of the young woman who had barged into Harry's office and demanded a job. She had certainly been a force to be reckoned with.

"Beth is going to be fine." Dimitri nodded but it was clear he didn't believe his senior officer. He was already preparing himself to say goodbye.

Lucas squeezed the younger man's shoulder. He didn't know what else to say. Both turned as a young woman wearing green theatre scrubs walked towards them. She smiled slightly as she realised both men were watching her.

"I'm Doctor Evans, I just operated on Miss Bailey."

Tariq opened the file Lucas had sent him. He knew Beth had contacts in the private sector that none of them would be able to easily gain access to. Tapping a few keys he smiled as he read the message.

"Malcolm?"

"What is it?" The older techie officer crossed the Grid to where Tariq was sat staring at the computer screen.

"Beth did it."

"Beth did what?" Malcolm sighed heavily. He placed his mug of tea on the desk in front of him.

"She found out who is going to be trying to blow up London tomorrow." He smiled. "Name and location there in black and white." He pointed at the screen as Malcolm smiled.

"FIND DAMON HAROLD. 19YRS OLD. GRANDSON OF HANS LINNERMAN. WESTGATE FLATS, SE 11. CARRYING ON GRANDPA'S WORK? ASK MAI."

Malcolm read the message out loud as he stared over Tariq's shoulder, suddenly aware that Zaf and Zoe were with him. Zaf was already pulling his jacket back on as Ruth crossed the room to them.

"Zaf?"

"Find out everything on Damon Harold. Think Beth may have just helped us out." He jogged to the Pods as Ruth stared at a grinning Malcolm and Tariq. For a moment she couldn't help but hope they had finally had a breakthrough. She glanced at the clock. Twelve hours to go...

A/N About two more chapters to go then I start the next story. Please review. Is Beth going to be ok? Will Zaf stop the bomber? More soon.


	35. Saturday Morning

Disclaimer: I still don't own Spooks :(

Saturday Morning.

Ruth was exhausted, but she knew the rest of the team were feeling the same way. Nightingale had exploded back into their lives with devastating affect. She rested her head on one hand as she watched Tariq hand Malcolm a coffee. Both men had been uncharacteristically quiet. Nightingale and the man in the cells had destroyed the sense of safety the team had. Beth was injured, Ros was once again acting as though she could solve the problem alone. Harry had been quiet and Ruth just knew he was blaming himself for the way the team had been affected, while Dimitri was simply heartbroken. She checked her watch. 01:10 She shook her head sadly, glad that Catherine had agreed to stay with Nico until she got home. She knew both Catherine and Nico knew that there was a fair chance she wouldn't be back before early Saturday evening. Ruth already felt guilty about being away for so long but she knew Nico got on well with Catherine and little Charlie. It was the one saving grace that the boy was so unlike his father.

"You ok Ruth?" Alec perched on her desk. She nodded, still not quite sure what Alec was doing on the team. They had found Andrew Lawrence. The man was still refusing to answer questions. She supposed Alec was merely making up numbers. In a way she thought Andrew Lawrence was doing the same.

"Yes." Ruth answered.

"Did you talk to Mai?"

"No." Ruth watched him as he nodded.

"Thought you had."

"Not since she was first arrested. I know Zoe and Ros formally charged her." Ruth had the feeling Alec couldn't help but interview every person he spoke to. "If you knew, why did you ask?"

"Just making conversation." He smiled slightly.

"If we are making conversation, how's Juliet?" She watched as he blushed. Not everyone knew he was currently having a relationship with the former Wicked Witch of Whitehall.

"Getting stronger everyday." He smiled slightly. Ruth watched as he stood up. "Look, I think you should interview Andrew Lawrence. He might talk to you."

"What makes you think that?" Ruth held his gaze.

"Ruth." He paused as she stared at him. Just sometimes it was as disconcerting as when Ros did it. "You know him, it was you that got information out of him before."

"He had people try to kill me and Ros, Alec. I hardly think that is conducive to me interviewing him."

"Charge or release in eight hours."

"He'll be charged with kidnapping Tariq. You know that."

"But everything else?"

"Ok, ok. I'll talk to him. But not on my own." She glanced towards Harry's empty office as she bit her lip. She knew as an Intel Analyst she was not supposed to interview suspects. It had never stopped her before. Alec smiled slightly.

"He got back from Whitehall about ten minutes ago. He's heading towards the cells. You and Harry are unstoppable together." He watched as she took the bait.

"Ok." She pushed her chair away from the desk and headed towards the basement of Thames House. She just knew that Andrew Lawrence was the last person who knew anything useful. All the intel pointed towards the two women. At the last moment she changed her mind. Stopping at the desk she signed her name in the records book and the name of the person she intended to speak to before heading towards the interview rooms while pulling her cell phone out of her pocket.

"Ros, hi. It's me." She paused as Ros answered her. "I know, but how do you feel about talking to the organ grinder rather than the monkeys?" She waited outside the interview room as Ros answered her. "OK, I'll meet you there."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry was not a happy man. William Towers had refused yet again to ban the March, despite knowing the risks. Harry sighed as he walked through the foyer of Thames House and nodded towards Stan.

"Evening Stan." He called as the older man waved a hand.

"Evening. I thought you would be interviewing that woman again." Stan smiled slightly as Harry frowned before walking towards him. He was too tired and far too stressed to even think about trying to second guess the security guard.

"Stan, I have not slept in over 24 hours please elucidate."

"Ruth and Ros." Stan suddenly realised he had said the wrong thing.

"Yes?"

"Ruth, she signed herself in the interview room. About five minutes before Ros did the same."

"And?"

"Interviewing the blonde woman. The one who was sweet on your Tom." Stan avoided Harry's gaze. Harry paused for a moment. He had no idea what had possessed either woman. There was a bomb threat in the capital city, a planned demonstration, a trade conference that had ended in disaster and now they were interviewing a woman they had already charged. He took a deep breath.

"Thank you." Harry marched towards the lifts, knowing that someone had put the idea of re-interviewing Christine Dale in Ruth's head. He knew it wouldn't have been Ros. He jabbed the lift button, hoping that she had decided to do it because she had found some more information. If she hadn't he knew he would have to have a word with Alec. That man had always been able to talk women into doing what he wanted.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Beth found this?" Adam frowned slightly as he looked at the message on Beth's Iphone.

"Yeah." Lucas answered. He really wanted to find Ros and go home but time was running out.

"So? What does it mean?" Adam read the message again. "Hans Linnerman's grandson is going to carry on his work? Nightingale suddenly a family business?"

"Could be." Zoe answered. She was perched on the edge of Zaf's desk and looked as exhausted as she felt. She needed a break before she did something stupid.

"Zo, go and get some rest. And take Zaf with you." Lucas glanced at his friend who was resting his head on the desk and snoring lightly. Zoe smiled. Zaf looked adorable. To her at least.

"Thanks." She tapped Zaf on the head. "And you sleeping beauty." The pair slipped quietly out of the pods before heading home for a couple of hours sleep. Zaf knew it was when daylight broke that the field officers would really come into their own. Until then it was the analysts that would be the most valuable people. He slung an arm around Zoe's shoulders as they walked towards the car.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Damon looks like a very naughty boy." Alec stated as he walked towards the others.

"Yeah. Ruth did some digging when Lucas called it in."

"Public school education. University. 9 points on his driving licence. Naughty boy." He tutted and threw the file he had been reading back on Ruth's desk.

"Sounds like a prat thats all." Tariq chimed in.

"Yeah. One without Ruth to sort out his licence." Lucas deadpanned as Adam coloured slightly.

"I think I would like to meet this famous grandson." Adam pulled his coat on. "You thinking what I am thinking?"

"Young, loner, in foreign country. Highly intelligent and alot of money in the bank. Yeah it doesn't fit your usual profile for a fanatic but it's halfway there."

"Grandson of one of Nightingale's best and brightest." Malcolm joined in. "I'd take back up if I were you."

"Get hold of Ros." Lucas started. "If I'm right she needs to ask Christine why she was given the money. I think we already have the who." The Grid fell silent as Harry walked through the Pods. Lucas and Adam exchanged glances as Tariq returned to his workstation.

"Harry." Adam turned to his boss. "Any luck?"

"Our Home Secretary has decided that the planned march tomorrow." He paused and checked his watch. "Today will go ahead."

"Bloody hell." Alec snapped. "He does understand there is a very high chance some scumbag is going to blow us all to Kingdom Come?" Alec was on his feet.

"I think he has more faith in my team than you you for the observation." Harry stepped towards his office. He was about to slam the door behind him when he paused and thought better of it. "Get Ros and Ruth back here. Malcolm, my office." He watched as his old friend nodded before following him into the glass pannelled room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dimitri couldn't believe it was happening again. He thought of Jackie and little Andy. Of Beth and how he hadn't really told her the truth. He had wanted to but he had been scared. He looked at the small photo of the young boy in his wallet and cursed the day he had chosen to believe Jackie when she said the child wasn't his. Andy was the image of him. If he could see it he was sure her husband could too. He snapped the wallet shut as he heard Beth groan in the bed next to him. She was off the life support machine but looked as though she had been kicked in the head like a football. He smiled slightly. There was no way he was going to loose someone else he loved. It just wasn't going to happen again.

"Hi." He kissed her hand as her eyes fluttered open.

"Mum?" Beth blinked hard, as if she was looking at someone he couldn't see.

"No Beth. It's me." He watched for any sign of recognition.

"Mmm" Beth closed her eyes. "Dim."

"I'm here Beth. I'm here." For a moment he was sure he saw her smile as she closed her eyes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Cut the bull, I really am not in the mood." Ros stood with her hands on the table in front of her. The tension radiated off her in waves as Ruth sat quietly next to her.

"I told you everything I know." Christine sat with her arms folded.

"Thing is." Ros glared at her "I don't take kindly to being lied to. $40,000 was credited to your bank account. Now a woman in your line of work doesn't earn that much in fourty years service so I suggest you tell us what the money is for and why you have it."

"You can suggest all you want to."

"Christine, you really think that Andrew is sat in the next room being interviewed and he isn't selling you down the river? Please, Christine. Tell me you have more sense than that." Ros sat back down. Ruth glared at the woman opposite them.

"He hasn't"

"How do you think we know about the money?" Ruth finally spoke. Christine looked away, suddenly awkward. Ros smiled slightly. Ruth never really said much in interviews, but what she did say often hit the mark.

"I."

"Start talking Christine. You are not getting out of this. Who gave you the cash and why?" Ruth leant forwards as she spoke. "I once asked Tom how he could be so cold when you were being held prisoner. But now I see why. You never really loved him."

"What?"

"You were with Andrew then too. Thing is, I mean don't you ever wonder how he could sleep with the wife of a friend? It makes you wonder what else he is capable of. You know as well as I do he was having an affair with Mai." Ros watched as the horror of Ruth's words washed over her. Ruth remained passive as Ros sat back down.

"Who gave you the money?" Ros kept her voice low, as if tending to an injured animal that could bite at anytime. Christine sighed before pushing her hair out of her face. It was time to talk.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Adam pushed the door to the bed sit open as Lucas trained his gun on the window. They had left Alec outside in the car. Lucas nodded as Adam gently pushed the door open and stepped in. The room was a mess, an unmade bed the centre piece. A copy of the Holy Bible was laying across the bed, next to a copy of the Torah and Koran. Adam shook his head as he picked up the nearest book.

"Bit indecisive about religion." He stated as he looked around the scruffy and untidy room.

"Yeah." Lucas stepped in as a net curtain caught the breeze. "Likes his fertilizer and chemicals."

"Keen gardener?" Adam smirked as he opened the ottoman at the end of the bed. The small box was full of cables and wires. A .45 revolver sat in the middle of it all. Adam felt sick. Everything they were looking at suggested Beth had been right. A bomb factory in central London was being run out of Damon Harold's flat. The only problem was there was no sign of the teenager, or anything to suggest he would return. He looked at his watch. "Lucas, how long do we have?"

"March starts from Parliament Square at 10 am."

"What time is it now?" Adam dreaded the answer.

Lucas sighed as he looked at his watch. "2 am. Eight hours and counting."

A/N More soon. Please review.


	36. Marching On

**Disclaimer. I do not own Spooks. Thanks for reading this story. It is probably the longest and most complicated I have ever written. Due to the lack of reviews for the last two chapters I assume people are getting fed up of it so this is almost certainly the last chapter before maybe an epilogue.**

**Marching On**

Ruth stared at the now closed interview room door. Christine Dale had been returned to her cell, now officially charged with a number of offences under the Anti Terrorism Act. She couldn't quite get her head around what the American woman had said. Ros was just as quiet next to her. The tension in the room was palpable.

"A kid?" Ros shook her head.

"I know."

"Did we even know Hans Linnerman had kids? Never mind grandchildren." Ros turned to Ruth as the analyst sighed.

"Yes. It's in the briefing notes. He had a daughter, she died in a car crash twelve years ago. The child went to Boarding School during term time and then spent the holidays with his grandparents." Ruth rested her head on one hand, utterly exhausted. Ros nodded. Both women were thinking the same thing. _It could have been Wes. If Adam had really died it could have been Wes. _Ros stared at the desk as she thought of the young boy they had all come to know and love.

"Right." She pushed herself away from the desk. "You talk to Harry, I'll get hold of Lucas and Adam."

"They went to the address Beth gave us. With Alec." Ruth got to her feet as she spoke. "Have you spoken to Lucas since you got back?"

Ros nodded briefly once before leaving the room. Ruth smiled slightly at the thought Lucas was about to get the shock of his life. Then she remembered she still hadn't told Harry she was interviewing Christine again. Without authorisation from Harry.

#######################################

Beth opened her eyes as she listened to the doctors and nurses talking to Dimitri. She was suddenly extremely annoyed that no one seemed to be talking to her. She tightened her hold on Dimitri's hand as she tried to speak.

"Di. Dim." Beth's voice was croaky to her own ears. Dimitri was instantly at her side.

"I'm here. It's ok."

The nurse smiled as Beth's eyes immediately sought out Dimitri's. He smiled as he met her eyes. The nurse busied herself checking Beth's vital signs as the doctor began asking Beth questions. Dimitri held his breath as he waited to hear Beth answer.

"Beth, can you tell me what year it is?" The doctor asked as he shon a light in her eyes.

"2011." The doctor smiled.

"How old are you?"

"Too old to be answering stupid questions!" She snapped as Dimitri smirked. Beth was back.

"Beth!" He tried to stiffle a laugh.

"When can I go home?" Beth slurred slightly as the doctor shook his head and smiled.

####################

Harry was exhausted. He stood with his arms folded as he watched the newsreader on BBC 24 outline the events surrounding the planned march. It was less than four hours away and Adam and Lucas still hadn't called in with any new information. He closed his eyes as he thought about the recent trouble the marches had brought to London. Zaf had described it as 'rent a mob' and Harry had a feeling the younger man was right. He tried to focus on the news report as the image of the dark haired newsreader was replaced by the helicopter footage of Parliament Square. He tried to ignore the knowledge that Ruth was stood two foot behind him, watching him from the office doorway. He knew he should reprimand her and Ros for deliberately breaking protocol but he knew there would be no real point. It wasn't the first time either woman had broken protocol more times than he cared to remember. He sighed as he realised he had to say something.

"Harry." Ruth bit her bottom lip as she waited for him to respond. He looked utterly defeated.

"Towers is determined that the march will go ahead."

"I know." She replied before stepping closer to him. He ignored her and kept his eyes on the small computer on his desk.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?"

"My job." Ruth snapped back. "We got information that may actually help Ros and the boys from getting blown to Kingdom Come when they catch up with this kid. We know Linnerman's grandson is fixated on Nightingale and that he inherited his father's fortune. It was him that emploed Robert. It was him that wanted Lucas and I killed."

"What?"

"The trade conference was a smokescreen Harry. Mai was hired to kill me. And Ros. When that seemed to have failed Robert expressed an interest in me. Said he had contacts in the Redbacks that would be willing to buy me. Lucas was a bonus." Ruth felt sick as the words left her mouth. Harry finally turned to stare at her. He knew exactly what the Redbacks had done to Zaf. What had happened to Jo at the hands of Boscard. The thought the same fate may have awaited Ruth made him visibly pale.

"Ruth." He touched her arm as he spoke. Ruth paused as he stepped nearer to her.

"I can find out how Mai came to know Robert when I talk to her. She told Ros and Lucas she only wanted to speak to me. I'll take Zoe with me."

"No."

"Harry, she knows far more than she is telling us. This march, the kid with the bomb. Why Andrew and Christine got caught up in all this." She watched as Harry's eyes clouded over.

"You can't talk to her."

"Harry." Ruth was beginning to get annoyed. It was only when Harry touched her elbow, bringing her attention back to him rather than the point on the desk she was staring at previously.

"She died. Thirty minutes ago. I just recieved a phonecall from the local plod that were babysitting her. The bloody guard fell asleep." He closed his eyes as Ruth's burnt into him.

"A single gunshot wound to the head." Ruth stated rather than asked.

"Yes."

"Very Nightingale."

"Yes."

"Harry, she had a child. A boy, the same age as Nico." Ruth sighed as Harry pulled her back into his arms.

"I know." He kissed her hair as she rested her head against his collar bone. "Malcolm is following Zaf and Zoe on CCTV."

"I'll get hold of Ros and the boys."

"Good. Thankyou Ruth." He released her. It was clear they were both back in work mode.

"I'll run the facial recon programme on the crowd and do another data base search for any known trouble makers."

"You did that." Harry smiled slightly as Ruth nodded.

"So? I'll do it again." She slipped out of the office as Harry smiled slightly.

########################

Central London was heaving with the usual Saturday tourists and shoppers as Zaf held Zoe's hand as they walked through the streets towards the point where the protesters were meeting. In the distance he could see the various plackards and slogans demanding the government change policy on everything from tuition fees to petrol prices. There was no sign of Harold.

"Alpha 4 in position." Zoe tapped her ear as she spoke. Malcolm confirmed he could see and hear her.

"Affirmative. Be advised Alpha 1 on route to you." He spoke calmly.

"Ros is on route." Zoe sighed as Zaf smiled.

"Great" He bounded towards a park bench. "Let's do a bit of people watching."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Lucas." Adam walked towards the car where Alec could be seen resting his feet on the dashboard. Lucas paused as he tapped his ear. He could hear Ros relaying instructions to Zaf over the comms. He couldn't help but smile. She had broken the trust between them and scared him half to death but she was alive. At that moment that was the only thing that mattered.

"Ros." Lucas smiled as Adam realised what he meant.

"That woman has nine lives. She has to be on life number 8 by now." He joked as Lucas frowned. He had to admit his friend had a point. There was only so many times a person could face death and walk away intact. He opened the driver's door as Alec looked up.

"You find anything?" Alec yawned as Adam and Lucas got in the car.

"Yeah, we have a potential suicide bomber on our hands. The target is not the landmarks we thought." Lucas tapped his ear piece as Adam threw the car into the almost gridlocked traffic.

"What is it?" Alec was confused.

"Us. The target is us. If they can't kill us they can make us look a fool. And after the Inquiry." Adam left the thought unsaid. The trip to Syria and the Albany affair had left mark on the team.

"The DG and the JIC are looking for any excuse to disband and discredit Section D. You know how it works Alec. We stop the bomb and save the day and they get off our backs. We don't. People get killed. Civillians get killed and we are disbanded. Seeing as we were the ones to stumble across Nightingale us being decommisioned works in their favour. No Section D and little Damon gets to carry out his Grandpa's dearest wish."

"Which was?" Alec looked from Adam to Lucas and back again.

"Which was the usual. New World Order. Selective Genocide and atrocities on the scale you read about in disaster novels." Lucas answered. He was itching to get to the march. He knew Zaf and the others were already there.

##############

Zoe touched Zaf's arm and nodded in the direction of a young boy wearing a khaki duffle coat. He seemed more nervous than the other protestors. Zaf nodded as he stood up, seeminly needing to stretch his legs.

"Ruth? Are you getting this? Skinny, white lad. About 20. On my immediate left?"

Ruth batted a few keys as she ran the image of the young man through the computer. She sensed Tariq working away at his own computer as Harry touched her shoulder.

"Yes. That's him." She answered as the facial recognition programme bleeped. "That is Damon Harold." Harry squeezed her shoulder as he leant across her desk to the microphone.

"Zafar, do not approach without backup. It is believed that young man is armed and dangerous. Ros is two minutes away and Adam and the others will be with you in under five minutes. Repeat. Observe with caution." Harry stepped back, his eyes transfixed to the image on the screen as Zoe came into view. Ruth took a deep breath as the young man realised he was being watched and ran into the throngs of people waiting to march.

"Think he clocked us." Zaf yelled as he ran after him with Zoe hot on his heels.

"Get me CO19 on the phone." Harry barked as Malcolm picked up the phone to call the Area Commander. It was going to be a far from straightforward arrest. Ruth smiled slightly at Malcolm as he spoke on the phone. It seemed the police were stretched to the limit.

"CO19 are at a bank robbery in Lewisham. Not able to attend the scene at present." He glanced towards Harry's office as he watched the Section Head pace the office as he yelled into the phone. He suddenly realised why Ruth was worried about her husband's blood pressure.

"Great." Ruth closed her eyes. "Just great."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ros walked towards the centre of the crowd as a young man barralled towards her. In seconds she had the boy on the ground with her knee in his lower back. The boy struggled as Zoe and Zaf reached them. Another man of about the same age began shouting about brutality and asking Ros if she needed a hand. She shook her head and tried to ignore the bystander.

"You alright luv. Idiot try something?"

"No. It's fine. I'm a nurse." She lied. "This man has had a fit. Ambulance wont be long."

The interested bystander nodded and walked away as Damon struggled below Ros. She leant forward as she dug her knee deeper in to his back.

"Listen to me. I dealt with your grandfather and I'll deal with you. Now be a good boy and keep still." She smiled as she realised the others had arrived.

"Harry said he was not to be approached."Zoe rested her hands on her knees as she spoke.

"Oh" Ros raised an eyebrow. "Oops."

Zaf smiled as he helped Ros search the man as Zoe read him the caution. As he tapped Damon's jacket he stoped. The air around them seemed to change.

"Ok, Damon." Zaf started slowly. "Where is the detonator?"

"Fuck off." Damon answered. Ros rolled her eyes. It was hardly an original reponse.

"It's over Damon. We have Mai, Andrew and Christine. It's over." She dragged him to his feet as the march began. The swell of the crowd made it difficult to hear anything. It was only when Ruth screamed down their earpieces for the third time that any of them began to realised the case was far from closed.

**A/N Ok maybe another chapter before the epilogue. This is longer than I intended. Please review.**


	37. Countdown

**Disclaimer. I do not own Spooks. Oh and thanks for the reviews and encouragement along the way xx**

**Unbelievable?**

Ruth felt her heart rate race dangerously high as she tried and failed to get Adam to pay any attention to her. She could see on the monitor that Ros had the suspect on the floor while Zoe and Zaf helped. Lucas and Adam were mere feet away as the crowd began to envelope them. The noise from the chanting protestors all but drowned out what she was trying to say. She hit the comms again.

"ALPHA BLOODY ONE! RESPOND!" She yelled. "ALPHA TWO! DO YOU COPY?" She felt Malcom rest a hand on her shoulder but she couldn't take her eyes off the screen.

"I still can't get CO19 there. The stand off at the Lewisham job is taking longer than anticipated." He explained. Ruth nodded. It was too late now anyway. She glanced up to see Tariq focusing the CCTV camera on the march and zooming in. Harry was marching towards them from his office.

"Tariq, keep following all this on the cameras. Get the bloody comms up again. Malcolm, anything at all to be done with the comms would be useful." He avoided Ruth's gaze. She turned her attention back to Ros, hoping she could get the blonde's attention.

"There is a wave form restorer I could try, we, er I borrowed it from the cousins a while ago." Harry couldn't help but smile. "Actually I should be able to pinpoint the second device with it, now that we have the suspect controlled. The radio waves sent out by the device he was wearing should match anything similar in the area at the same time." Harry nodded. He hadn't understood a word his friend had said.

"Harry." Ruth knew what her husband was doing.

"Ruth, get hold of the CO19 Commander. Ask him he would like to explain why half of London was blown up today to the Home Secretary or would be prefer to get his finger out and keep his job?" He pulled on his leather gloves as she stared at him in disbelief.

"Harry, no you can't.."

"Ruth, I have to. Now keep feeding us the information we need." He held her gaze a fraction of a second too long before disappearing into the pods. She stared after him for a moment before muttering a few expletives and returning her attention to the scene in front of her.

################

"Ruth!" Lucas winced as he heard the analyst's voice in his ear. "I am not deaf. What happened?"

"Harry is on the way to you now."

"Ok." Lucas knew if that was the case something had happened. He glanced at Adam as he felt himself jossled away from his friend. The noise and swell of the crowd carrying them in opposite directions.

"There is a second device. Intel from GCHQ states there is a second device!" She tried not to yell. Ruth glanced at Tariq whose fingers were like lightnening over the keyboard in front of him as a computerised map appeared on the screen. Alec's voice came through the comms as Ruth felt every muscle in her body tense.

"Ruth." Alec dodged a girl with purple dread locks as he spoke. "Any idea where the bomb is?"

"No." Ruth ran a hand through her hair.

"This bugger is remote control." Ros joined in the conversation. Her knee was still firmly jammed in the young man's back. She had no intention of moving until she knew the device was safe. The boy on the floor began chanting in Urdu. Zaf knelt next to him as he stared at the waistcoat of explosives.

"Listen, praying to Allah is a bit pointless. We know you have no real religion, we know you are picking out bits of Christianity, Judaism and the Muslim faith to suit your needs. If you thought it would get you anywhere I know you'd be singing Three Blind Mice about now." Ros smirked as Zaf spoke. The boy fell silent.

"Where is the detonator?" Ros shifted her weight as Zoe took a photograph of the bomb on the phone and emailed it to Malcolm.

"Dunno."

"What the hell do you mean you don't know?" Ros glanced at Zaf. She had an idea what the boy was implying. She didn't like it. "Zoe, clear the square."

"What?" Zoe looked a little lost.

"Clear the square. Get as many civillians out of here as possible." She dragged the young man to his feet as she saw Harry approach her.

"Ros."

"Harry,"

"There is a second device." Harry stated as Ros nodded. Her comms had kicked back in as Ruth had informed Lucas. She knew what they were up against.

"And this one is still live." She tilted her head, indicating the waistcoat around the boy. Harry frowned. He could still remember the look on Ruth's face as he had left the Grid. A mixture of fear, anger and resignation. She knew he would always go into the field if he thought he ought to. Harry was not the type of man to sit back and watch his team risk their lives when he would not do the same thing.

"Apparently." Harry walked closer to Ros and stared in to the eyes of the young man she was holding.

"Leave me alone!"

"Ah it speaks." Ros rolled her eyes as she tightened her hold on him.

"Location of second bomb and detonators. Now." Harry's voice was low and calm. The crowds around them seemed to be thinning out. Zaf and Zoe were doing a good job of clearing the area.

"No!"

Harry stared at him for a moment before pulling out his mobile phone. He hit speed dial without looking at the small device.

"Malcolm? Yes. Speak to Andrew Lincoln. He knows where the second bomb is. He helped plant it. Just like the hotel one." He deposited the phone back in his pocket as Ros and the boy waited. "You know as well as I do that you aren't ready to die. What happened to your grandfather was his choice, you have a chance to do something else. You don't need to be him. Where are the devices? Come on Damon. Tell me." Harry watched as the boy's eyes clouded over.

"We die today!"

"NO." Harry snapped. "You really have been brainwashed. Nightingale are more evil than I gave them credit for. They have used you. Your grief and anger have been fuelled by them. Don't do this." Harry took a step towards him. "Don't do this."

################

Lucas broke his way through the crowds. He hated the idea that Nightingale could win now. After everything with Sarah Caulfield, Oliver Mace, Linnerman and Ros' father he hated to think that they were going to win now. After everything the team had been through, for it to end now was unthinkable. He tapped his earpiece as he tried to listen to what Ros and Harry were saying. The knowledge that Ros was holding what was essentially a human bomb made him feel sick.

"Ruth." He tapped his ear. ""I've lost eyeball. I can't see Adam."

"He's approximately 40meters west of you." Ruth replied. The coldness of her voice told him she was as scared as he was. But there was a job to do.

"Ok. Any news on the second location?"

"No." She hissed. "It has to be in Parliment Square. It's probably the one place we'd least expect it."

"Copy that." Adam answered as he spotted the dark haired spook in the distance. "The Speaker's Box. Isn't some politician or other going to make a speach there later?"

"Yes." Malcolm answered. "It's currently occupied by the Shadow Secretary for Education. She's going to make a speach in the next ten minutes, about students from the EU attending British universities." Ruth closed her eyes as she heard Tariq swear.

"That's the target." Tariq answered. "Nightingale always had an issue with this New World Order crap. Its there. They are going to blow that woman sky high, as she makes her speach."

"Then leave it for the regular white supremisists to try to take the blame." Ruth sighed.

"Or the glory." Adam answered. "Ruth, get hold of her office. She has got to be warned."

"Already on it." Ruth swallowed hard, vaguely aware that Harry and Zoe could be heard through the comms. Neither sounded happy.

#################

Harry was beginning to loose his patience. He knew there was a time, during Ruth's exile, when the kids hadn't been speaking to him that he wouldn't care if the bomb blew up right in his face. Now he did. Now he had Ruth, his children, grandson and Nico to get home to. Since Ruth had returned he had more to live for than he ever thought possible. Some teenage lad with a grudge was not about to ruin it now. He stared the boy in the face.

"You know where the bomb is." He took a step towards him. The boy glared. "I strongly suggest you start talking."

"I aint saying nuffin to you old man." Damon spat. Ros raised an eyebrow. She was beginning to think that whoever had the detonator was going to set it off. The boy she was holding on to was beginning to get agitated. She had a feeling it was nothing to do with the fact he was being held by two of the country's most senior anti terrorist officers.

"You know what happens to a body when it's blown apart?" Ros stated calmly. "It isn't very pretty."

"And you'd know."

"Oh yes. I've seen what a few pounds of explosives can do. I've seen coffins weighed down with sandbags to make the coffin the right weight for the person that should be inside. You want that for yourself?" Ros hissed. "You haven't got the nerve."

"And you have?"

"I'm holding on to you. You set that bomb off I'm hardly going to be doing the weekly shop in tesco later am I?" She watched as Harry tried his best not to smirk. "Unless you want to orphan my kids and go down as one of the most misguided idiots in the history of this city I suggest you answer the question."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Adam ran towards the small podium where the politician and union leaders were preparing to hold theor speaches. He ignored the outside broadcast lorries from ITN, BBC News and Sky as well as the solitary van from CCN. For some unknown reason the americans were covering the story. He reached the podium seconds before Alec and Lucas. Neither man looked very happy.

"Ruth said." Adam started.

"I know. I heard. Malcolm?" Alec walked towards a rather irrate middle aged woman flapping her arms about and shouting.

"The wave thing he adapted. Says the bomb is here somewhere." Lucas rounded the bck of the american's van and stopped. "And he was right." The small device, no bigger than a matchbox was on the lock of the van. It looked just like the security lock a million security vans used. He started to look for wires, for anything that might give him a clue to what he was looking at.

"You found it?" Adam backed away from the ITN van as he heard Lucas confirm that he had. "Right. Alec, get that woman out of here and go and help Ros."

"On it." Alec smiled his best charm smile before pulling out his ID badge. He could see the woman was less than impressed. He didn't care, it was his job to make sure she was still alive at the end of the day. He really didn't care is she had a stinking attitude, he wasn't paid to like the woman.

"What is the meaning of this?" She glared at him.

"That, luv is what we are still trying to work out. I'm with Section D. You need to leave the area immediately."

"Section D!" She spat. "I knew Harry Pearce would stick his nose into this!"

"Just be glad he did." Alec smirked as he ushered her and her bodyguard towards the black sedan that was waiting for them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Can you describe it?" Malcolm watched. He already had the photograph Zoe had sent him of the bomb on the boy.

"I'm sending you a photo now." Lucas answered. He tried to control his breathing.

"Ah." Malcolm frowned.

"Ah?" Lucas paused. "Come on, why is it I always worry when you say that?"

"Generally because there is something to worry about." Malcolm paused. "That device is linked to the one Zoe has spoken to me about. They are connected, on a wireness network. To disable one will automatically activate the other."

"Shit."

"Precisely Mr North." Malcolm replied. Tariq glared at the screen as Ruth replaced the handset on her phone.

"So if Ros disables the one she had then that one blows up? Is there a way of diabling them both?" Ruth could barely make out the timer on the bomb, counting down slowly.

"Well yes."

"What is it then?" Adam snapped.

"Both bombs have to be disarmed at exactly the same time. One second out. Even half a second out and they will both explode." Malcolm explained as Tariq whistled.

"You have to admit. It's neat." He watched as Ruth and Malcolm both raised an eyebrow. "Right. Who invented it?"

"The British." Malcolm sighed. "In the first Gulf War era. Not pleasant but affective."

"Ok." Ros broke in. "Let's do this. I am going to do this, Lucas? Adam?"

"I'll do it." Lucas answered. Every cell in Ros' body wanted her to scream that he should run, get back to James and Amy and let her do this. Not try to diffuse the bomb himself. "Come on Ros, you know we have great timing."

"Ok." She paused and looked at Harry. "You go. Get Zaf and Zoe as far away from me as possible. Adam, you and Alec clear the area too." She threw the young boy back to the floor. "You keep still."

###############

Beth felt Dimitri brush his thumb over the back of her hand. She had no idea how long he had been there but she was glad he was. The late afternoon sunshine seeped through the windows as she tightened a hold on his hand.

"What time is it?"

"11." Dimitri watched as her eyes widened.

"Go,"

"What?"

"Dimitri, the march. You have to be there." She struggled to sit up in the bed as she spoke. "I am going nowhere but you have to go back to work."

"Beth." Dimitri shook his head. "Harry said I can stay with you."

"And I am saying you can't. Please Dimitri. If it all goes wrong and you were here with me then I will just feel guilty. Please, they need all the help they can get." She bit her bottom lip as Dimitri stood up.

"Ok, on one condition."

"Anything." Beth held his gaze, her blue grey eyes focused on his.

"You be here when I get back. No more trips to theatre that end up scaring me to death. I can't loose you Beth Bailey." He watched as she smiled slightly.

"I'll be here."

"Right, see you in a bit." He kissed her lips briefly before heading out the door. Beth couldn't help but smile.

################

"Ok." Ros paused as she stared at the device.

"Ok." Lucas answered. "You ready?"

"Yeah." Ros ignored the boy staring at her as if she was insane.

"Ros." Harry spoke quietly as she kept her eyes on the flashing lights infront of her. She was totally focused and ignored everything around her. The only thing she could hear was Malcolm's voice reading out instructions to her and Lucas. Harry refused to leave her but was relieved when he heard Zoe and the boys had escaped to a fair distance. He was also relieved to see the Bomb Squad arrive but then pushed down the anger when he realised they were just too late. Ros and Lucas had to do this. There was no other choice.

##################

10. 09. 08. 07.

Lucas stared at the small digital display as the timer counted down. He listened to the instructions Malcolm gave and was quietly pleased that Adam and Alec were as far away as possible. He tried his best to keep calm and push all thoughts of Ros and the children as far away from his mind as possible.

"Harry, go." Ros stated calmly.

"No." Harry watched as her fingers danced across the wires as she tried to find the one Malcolm had told her to cut. She knew Lucas was doing the same mere feet away. She sent up a silent prayer that they were as in sync as Lucas believed they were. The counter ominously counted down as Harry held his breath. Ros sent up a silent prayer to the patron saint of spooks. The red numbers counted down as she heard Lucas and Malcolm talking through the comms. Ruth mentioned something about the Commander of CO19 wanting to talk to Harry. But it was background noise. She took a deep breath as she felt Lucas do the same. She ignored the way Harry was looking at her. If he wouldn't leave then it was his fault. She tentitively reached out and pulled the green wire. The entire section held their breaths...

##############

A/N Thankyou for the reviews. Please let me know what you think.


	38. Smoke and Mirrors

**Disclaimer : I do not own Spooks. Thank you for all the reviews. Well this is it. Is there really any way back for Ros and the others? Please let me know what you think.**

**Smoke and Mirrors.**

Tariq stared at the monitors as the Grid decended into silence. Malcolm frowned as he tapped a few keys on the computer in front of him as he tried to find out what had happened. The comms had died the moment Lucas and Ros had cut the wires. They had no way of knowing if it had worked out. If the team and hundreds of protestors had survived. Tariq grabbed the phone on his desk at the first ring as Ruth sent up a prayer that Harry and the others were ok. She was almost rigid in fear as she thought of all the random possibilities, of all the things that had gone wrong.

"Tariq." Malcolm started. "Get hold of Alec. We need to know he got that infernal woman away from the demonstration."

"Ok." Tariq picked up the phone, he glanced at Ruth who was staring into space. He had a feeling Ruth was beginning to shut down and withdraw from them. He nodded towards Ruth as Malcolm nodded. He had already noticed the walls come up around Ruth. He knew she was trying to protect herself from what was likely to happen.

"Ruth." Malcolm rested a hand on her shoulder. "We have no idea how things have worked out."

Ruth nodded once, unsure if she should allow herself to speak she turned back to the computer screen trying her best to concentrate on the images in front of her rather than the sinking feeling that something had happened to Harry and her friends. She bit her bottom lip and fought the urge to cry as tears rapidly formed in her eyes.

##############################

Ros coughed as the smoke caused her eyes to sting. She had no idea what had exploded but it wasn't the bomb the boy was wearing. Damon remained immobile at her feet as she glared at the snapped green wire. Her ears were ringing as she heard the sirens of the ambulances and police in the background. For a moment she wondered who was hurt. It wasn't until she heard the screams of the protestors in the background. The man who had offered to help her earlier crouched down beside her.

"That bloody ambulance is taking a long time." He smiled slightly. "Looks like your old man there needs it more than this kid."

"What? Who?" Ros' head snapped round to see Harry slumped on the floor with blood pouring from his forehead. Ros suddenly felt sick as the man touched her arm.

"Dunno what went down 'ere luv but you aint no nurse."

"No." Ros admitted. She stared at Harry's chest, watching the rise and fall of his chest. His eyes were closed but he was breathing. She smiled slightly as she remembered telling Ruth that she was the one who shouldn't go into the field. It seemed ironic that now Harry was injured for the second time since the case began. She touched her ear and winced as the high pitched noise from her earpiece told her the comms were down. She swore and dug her hand in her jeans pocket for her mobile phone.

"Rosalind." Harry frowned as he gingerly opened his eyes. "Clarify the status of the others."

"Harry." Ros kept her voice as calm as she could as the sirens got nearer. She was determined to hand Damon over to the police to babysit before she even thought about the source of the explosion. She pressed the speed dial button before giving her clearance code and being put through to the Grid. "Malcolm, we have a situation." Ros looked around, completely unaware that this was the first indication anyone back at the Grid had to prove they were still alive.

"Sitrep Alpha One." Malcolm stated.

"A third device. Smaller, not attached to the main two seems to have gone up." She heard Ruth swear as she spoke. "Xray controlled, Delta1 is down, repeat Delta1 is down. No word on the others." Ros didn't like how pale Harry looked. She ended the call as a burly policeman walked towards her.

"Alright, we need to clear the area." The officer made the mistake of touching Ros on her shoulder. She glared as the officer snatched his hand away.

"I am aware of that. This man needs medical assistance." She nodded towards Harry who was glaring at the policeman. "This one has been arrested under the 2009 Anti Terrorism Act. See to it that he is transferred to Thames House." The policeman raised his eyebrows as Ros stood and faced him, oblivious to the bomb squad now hastily trying to clear the area completely and remove any further threats.

"And you would be? Miss?" He smirked as Ros narrowed her eyes.

"Section Chief Ros Myers. Section D. That is Section Head Sir Harry Pearce. Now be a good boy and do your job. This man is under arrest. We have several other people in custody." Ros smiled slightly as he visibly paled in front of her.

"Yes Ma'am."

"Theres a good boy."

################

Lucas swore as the ground beneath him shook. He had cut the wire at exactly the same time as Ros had. He had no idea what had exploded but knew it was something other than the bomb he had been working on. Something else had gone up. He ran a hand through his dark hair as Adam walked back to him.

"You alright?"

"No." Lucas rocked back on his heels. "No, we didn't stop the thing going up."

"It was something else." Adam looked out over the green, now almost devoid of life. He narrowed his eyes as he saw ambulances and police cars in the distance with the lights still casting out a blue eerie glow over the area. He had a very strange feeling that they had been played.

"Yeah. Spotted that." Lucas deadpanned as he got to his feet. "Alec get that woman away?"

"Yeah. He could charm the birds from the trees. The Shadow Secretary of State for Education is alive and well, no thanks to Nightingale."

Lucas shook his head as he pulled out his mobile. The small phone bleeped into life as he stared at the screen. "Dimitri?"

############

Dimitri jumped from the car and flashed his ID badge at the young police car as he ran towards the scene. Beth's words were running through his head as he saw the dust and smoke begin to settle. He knew that she had been right. He was too late. He scanned the green for any sign of his friends as he pulled his phone from his pocket. He had to know what was going on. Before he could think he called Lucas.

"What's happened?"

"Dimitri, get back to Thames House." Lucas barked as Adam coughed. The small explosion had been big enough to cause the earth beneath them to shake and send smoke and debris everywhere. The ensuing panic had made matters worse. For a moment he was transported back to the Rememberance Day explosion where he had faked his own death. He listened as Lucas briefly outlined what Dimitri had missed. He took the phone from Lucas and turned to walk towards where they knew the others would be.

"Get hold of the Grid, no one is answering the phone. If Damon Harold is there you interview him. We have to get the answers before we loose anymore time. Press the advantage." Adam wished Beth was there with Dimitri. He knew she was the tougher interrorgator. Dimitri seemed to lack the killer instinct to finish an interview with the answers they needed. Beth had it in spades.

"But."

"No buts Dimitri." He snapped the phone shut as he thought about contacting the Grid. One look at how pale and quiet Lucas got as they reached the site of the initial bomb told him that he had made theh right decision to delay speaking to Ruth. Lucas walked silently alongside him as they both scanned the area, knowing that the smaller explosion may have been caused by the presence of a second bomber.

Ruth remained silent as she worked her way through the CCTV footage of the demonstrations in Parliament Square. She had no idea whether her friends were alive or dead. Whether Harry had actually stayed with Ros when she had told him to leave her. All she knew was she had to go through the footage of the demonstrations up until they had lost coverage. She tried to fight the thought that it was the last image she could have of Harry. As she listened to Zoe tell Ros not to hit the man they had been looking for she couldn't help but smile. For a moment she didn't realise she was no longer alone on the Grid.

"Well, I did tell her." Zoe stated as she jogged down the steps on the Grid.

"Since when has Ros done anything she was told?" Zaf smirked as Alec nodded before throwing himself into the chair next to Malcolm's desk.

"First time for everything." Alec shrugged.

Ruth froze. The conversation was so normal but so far removed from what was going on around her. She had known they were all dead. The moment the comms went down she had known. Only a few people could order the mobile phone networks to drop the signals. Harry was the only person currently in the country with that authority. The fact that hadn't happened had screamed volumes to her. She closed her eyes as she felt Zaf touch her shoulder.

"You have spoken to Harry? Haven't you Ruth?" He asked quietly as she shook her head.

"Ros, Lucas and Adam are at the scene. Clearing things up and generally scaring the bomb squad's Inspector half to death. Dimitri is preparing to interview Damon Harold. Harry went to hospital." Zaf watched as Ruth's shoulders sagged. "Come on, get your coat."

"What?"

"I am taking you to the hospital. Now. Come on." He turned her chair so she had no option but to face him. "He's alive. He's ok."

"Adam ordered you and Dimitri to start interviewing the boy." She avoided his eyes, knowing she would start crying if she looked at her best friend.

"Adam says a lot of things." Zaf smiled slightly. "Zoe will cover for me. Won't you Zo?" He looked at his fiance.

"Don't I always?" Zoe sighed dramatically before flashing Ruth a smile.

"Come on." He ushered Ruth out of the Grid.

#################

Ros met Lucas' eye as he approached her. For a moment she was unable to move. She hadn't set eyes on him since she had gone dark. For a moment she was content to just stand and stare but there was a job to do. Lucas smiled slightly and nodded once as the ambulance containing Harry drove away.

"You ok Ros?" Lucas ran his eyes over her thin frame, looking for any sign of injury.

"Aren't I always." She stated rather than asked. Lucas held her gaze a little too long. He knew her too well. Even if she was dying inside she would never admit it.

"Who's your new friend?" Adam nodded towards the burly man with tattoos that had been speaking to her earlier. Ros raised an eyebrow.

"Adam Carter, this is Jeff Norman. Section21 at 6."

"Bloody spook." Adam rolled his eyes.

"Takes one to know one." Jeff smiled as he shook Adam's card. "The legendary Adam Carter. How's Fiona? You two are like the Richard and Judy of the security services." He suddenly realised he had said the wrong thing as Lucas and Ros exchanged glances. Adam visibly paled.

"I, er, it was nice to see you again after all these years." Adam stepped away and made his way across to where the bomb disposal team were packing away.

"Oh. Don't tell me. Please don't tell me it was a bad divorce, what with them having a kiddie." Jeff looked towards the couple.

"No, he's a widower." Ros sighed as she turned and watched her friend discuss the case with the policeman.

Jeff hung his head and cursed the words that had come out of his mouth.

############

Ruth marched through the entrance to the A&E department as every possible scenario played it's way out in her mind. She knew Harry was the only one of the team to end up in hospital. She couldn't help but think the worse. Zaf smiled at the young nurse as they reached the waiting room.

"Ruth, I think I'll ring the Grid." He muttered before turning to leave Ruth alone as the door to the cubicle in front of her opened. She hadn't even noticed Zaf had left her.

"Harry?"

############

A/N Sorry, another cliffhanger of sorts. Really just the very fluffy epilogue to go. Please review.


	39. Epilogue

**Disclaimer. I still do not own Spooks. Apologies for the long and convoluted plot, sometimes I worry about my thought processes you know! My brain can be a little strange at times! Anyway thankyou for the amazing reviews. So for littlemissruth and the others that wanted it this is the fluffiest ending I have ever written. Oh and yes there is another story to come. A Rainbow's End is the Malcolm centric story I've been thinking of for ages!**

**Epilogue.**

Ruth froze, she wasn't sure she had even spoken. Zaf had muttered something about leaving her to find somewhere to call Zoe. She hadn't really been listening. All she cared about was seeing Harry again. Somewhere in the pit of her stomach she felt guilty about leaving the Grid, especially when there was still so much intelligence still to be analysed. She knew if her boss was anyone other than her husband she would have been worried about the consequences of leaving her post. Ruth took a deep breath as the door to the treatment room opened slowly.

"Harry?" She repeated as a middle aged nurse walked from the room.

"Hello." She smiled slightly at her. "Are you with Harry?"

"Yes." Ruth felt her pulse begin to quicken. She knew something had happened to Harry. Something which made the nurse act with immediate sympathy towards her. The nurse nodded once.

"Have a seat in the waiting room. They'll call you in as soon as they can."

Ruth nodded once. She didn't like the sound of that at all. If the nurse was trying to stop her seeing her husband she knew it meant something had gone seriously wrong.

##################################

Adam looked up at the rapidly darkening sky. He didn't want to get soaked and he knew there was very little else that could be done at the scene. He thanked the police officer he had been talking to before walking across to where Ros had been terrifying her Bomb Squad counterpart. It was clear for all to see that Ros wa furious. Adam smiled, he knew she was taking it as a personal insult that there had been an explosion when they had worked so hard to stop Nightingale.

"Adam." Ros turned as she saw Adam reach her. "Get back to the Grid, there is nothing more that can be done here." She walked past him as Lucas met Adam's eye. Adam nodded, he could see Lucas was worried about his wife but knowing Ros there was nothing that could get her to admit she needed help. He sighed.

"Best do as she says." Adam nodded as Lucas spoke. The words of his former colleague from 6 rang out in his mind as he turned and looked out over the green. It was now almost empty apart from the few emergency service vehicles that remained.

##############

Dimitri replaced the phone on his desk as Tariq placed a coffee on his desk.

"That was Zaf. Harry is with the doctor but Ruth is going to wait for him. Zaf's on his way back." He picked up the mug gratefully as Malcolm smiled. He had been worried about his old friend. "Seems you'll still have Harry as Best Man." Dimitri turned to him. "That is once you get through the Stag Party."

"Thank you Mr Levandis." Malcolm tried not to show how worried he was about the upcoming wedding. He knew it was going to be a small affair and he knew Sarah was the one. She always had been but the thought of a Stag Night filled him with dread.

"Stop worrying Malcolm." Tariq smiled. "I'll look after you."

"I can assure you I am not concerned at all. Now can we get back to the matter in hand?" He looked towards the Pods as they whooshed open to allow Ros and the others to enter the Grid. All three looked angry and exhausted. No one could fail to miss how Lucas headed straight for the kitchenette while Ros headed for her desk without saying a word. Adam shook his head slightly as he sat at his desk.

"Third device?" Adam stared at Tariq who strugged his shoulders. Suddenly everyone was paying attention.

"Tiny thing considering the impact it had." Tariq nodded towards Malcolm as Zoe began reading the transcript of the interview she had just conducted with Damon Harold. She knew Dimitri was avoiding doing the same.

"Go on." Ros urged as Lucas stood in the doorway of the kitchenette, listening to every word.

"Well." Malcolm joined in. "I don't think there was a second bomber. Just a very sophisticated detonator, set on remote control. It should have caused some considerable damage but it failed to fully ignite. It seems to have been triggered by the other two devices being disabled."

"When we cut the wire it was triggered." Lucas stated.

"So it would seem." Malcolm turned to face the younger man as Zoe shook her head.

"We were the bombers." Ros kept her voice deliberately calm.

"Ingenious really." Malcolm answered.

"Oh yes. It seems our friends are always ready to surprise us. Dimitri, Adam talk to Damon again. Tariq, Malcolm go home. Get some rest. You too Zoe."

"Thanks." Tariq smiled. "What about you?"

"Go." Ros smiled slightly, before I change my mind.

The baby of the team didn't need telling twice.

Ruth hated the posters on the A&E waiting room wall. The television in the corner seemed to be goading her. She ignored the muted televison as she tried to think of anything and everything bar the demonstrations in Parliament Square. The targets had been saved, only Beth and Harry seemed to be paying the price for Nightingale falling back into their lives. She swore under her breath as she thought of the young blonde who had to go through weeks, possibly months of rehab. She wondered if the same fate was facing Harry. She sniffed and stood up, walking hurridly towards the door. Suddenly everything seemed so unfair. She had Nico back. She was married to Harry and they had been happy. Now it seemed that she was going to have to go home and tell Nico that he had lost another parent. Ruth didn't realise she had been crying until the biting wind hit her cheeks as she left the A&E department.

"Right then." Mike smiled slightly "You'll do."

"Thanks" Harry gingerly touched the stitches the doctor had applied to the wound just above his forehead.

"I wont ask why you got your head cut open by a piece of shrapnel in Central London. I've seen you and the rest of Section D in here too many times to wonder too much. Have a quiet few days and any problems get yourself back here. You had a nasty knock to your head this time Harry." Mike watched as Harry raised an eyebrow.

"You know what I do for a living. Add to that I live with two cats, a terrier, a toddler is there most of the time with my two adult kids and now we have added a teenager to the mix I don't see how having a quiet few days is ever going to happen." Harry smiled slightly.

"No? Well in that case, give this card to Ruth. If she's worried I want you back here ASAP. You are not twenty any more Harry. None of us are."

"And don't I bloody know it." Harry stood.

"Oh Ruth was in the waiting room." Harry nodded and smiled at his old friend's words and left the treatment room trying not to think of the sting in his buttock from the tetanus jab or the nine stitches in his scalp. Ruth was waiting.

Lucas stared at his sleeping baby son as he thought about what had happened in Parliament Square. He didn't really understand what Malcolm had said, he knew very little about explosives. Lucas couldn't help but smile as he watched the baby turn his head in his sleep. He watched the baby boy for a few moments longer before heading back to his own room. The shower running in the background was ignored as he checked Amy was still asleep. He couldn't help but roll his eyes as he saw Amy curled on her side with her pink elephant clutched in her hand. The expression on her sleeping face made her look even more like Ros than she already did.

"Lucas." Ros rested a hand on her husband's back as she spoke.

"They are both out for the count." He kept his voice low. The last thing he needed was to wake Amy up.

"Good." Ros knew Lucas had been worried. She knew he was angry with her but she wasn't about to appologise. He knew her well enough to know she would be back, that she could take care of herself. As if reading her mind Lucas turned to face her.

"Andrew Lawrence tried to have you killed."

"Yes."

"Yet you still went dark? God Ros. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I don't have to answer to you, if anything Harry and Adam are the ones that can question my operational decisions. Not you." Ros hissed. She glanced across at the little girl sleeping peacefully.

"As your case officer? Maybe not. As your husband. I want you safe. I need to know if you are considering leaving. If you are running away again." Lucas held her gaze. Ros couldn't look away. "I don't want to loose you."

"Lucas."

"It just seems you'll do anything to get yourselves killed." Lucas gripped her shoulders. "I know you."

"Yeah? Then you know I'd never walk out on the kids. On you." She watched as he closed the impossibly small gap between them. She reached up and touched his face. "You know me Lucas. You know who I am in here." She touched her chest, above her heart. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll always come back."

Lucas kissed her as she wound her arms around him. "Ros." Lucas pulled back and took her hands in his own. "Nightingale, Andrew Lawrence. It isn't over."

"No." Ros agreed. "No but it's contained. And we know what we are dealing with."

"So next time." He kissed her again.

"There isn't going to be a next time." Ros took his hand and led him to the bedroom.

Ruth leant against the wall outside A&E watching as two paramedics escorted what looked like a very drunk teenager into the department. She shook her head, thinking about how she would cope if Nico ever pulled such a stunt. She felt sorry for the boy's parents. She was lost in thought when she felt him next to her.

"Ruth, Mike said you were here."

"Zaf brought me." She answered before she turned to look at him. "Harry."

"It's not as bad as it looks." He smiled as she bit her lip. His eye was swollen and the stitches about his eyebrow stood out in the dark. "I' fine."

"You were dead."

"No I wasn't"

"I heard the explosion. The comms went off, the mobile network stayed on. You were dead."

"Ruth." He rested his palm against her cheek. "I am here. I am fine." He pulled her into his arms as she hugged him back tightly. For a moment Harry wondered if he should mention his broken ribs. He decided against it. Ruth was shaking in his arms, it was only then he realised she was really crying.

"I." She sniffed before resting her palms against his chest. "Harry."

"I told you. I am not going anywhere. Ruth, you are stuck with me." He kissed her forehead as she smiled slightly.

"And what about Nightingale?"

"I have no doubt they will turn up again at some point." Harry had a feeling they were going to be the bane of their lives for a while yet.

"And?"

"And we make sure we are ready and waiting. And we make sure Beth has a Section D to come back to. Ruth, they haven't won in the past. They haven't won today and I see there being no chance of them gaining the advantage in the future. Now I don't know about you but I really want to go home." He ran his hand through her hair as he spoke. For a moment Ruth was distracted.

"Home?"

"Yes, to Catherine and the kids."

Ruth smiled. She had half wondered if he would go straight back to work. She checked her watch and her eyes widened at how late it was.

"Ok Harry, take me home."

A/N Loose ends to be tied up in the new story. Thank you so much for the reviews. Please leave a last one x


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